The Blood
by alluringmelodies
Summary: Once you get it, you can't get out; that was how the Blood works. But when Natsume crossed paths with Mikan, he's willing to risk it all. What if it was destiny that caused their two paths to intertwine?
1. Reason to Live

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. All credits go to the creator, Tachibana Higuchi.**_

* * *

_6 years ago; September 29, 2006. _

"Will the defendant please rise." The judge announced.

Kuro Hyuuga glanced at his lawyer nervously, before his lawyer motioned him to stand up. He stood up shakily.

"The jury has been gathered here today to hear the crime that Kuro Hyuuga has been charged with. He has been accused with first degree murder on not one, but 3 people. Has the jury reached a verdict?" the judge asked.

"Yes we have sir," said a man as he stood up. Clearing his throat, "The jury has decided that the defendant is…guilty. He is charged with a death sentence."

Kuro Hyuuga's eyes closed as he heard his lawyer muttering a stream of cuss words. "Are there any last reasonable requests that you have, Mr. Hyuuga?" asked the judge.

His eyes reopened at the sound the sound of his name. "My son," he said immediately, "I would like to see my son for the last time."

"Very well." The judge motioned to an officer standing by his side, "Find Hyuuga's son." He commanded. He then motioned to another officer to take Mr. Hyuuga into custody, "Case dismissed." The judge said, while Kuro Hyuuga was being led out of the courtroom.

"Wait here while we go get your son." The officer said gruffly, leading Mr. Hyuuga into a cell. "We'll put you out when your boy gets here."

Kuro paced around the cell anxiously. He knew that this day would be inevitable; he knew that this was the result of being a member of the Blood. He knew that once he was in, _there was no getting out. _He just hoped that his son wouldn't make the same mistake as he did.

"Your son is here." the officer announced, opening the door of the cell.

Kuro walked out and immediately started to look for his son. His eyes didn't find him, but his ears did.

"Dad!" he heard, as he tried to locate his son. And soon enough came face to face with his son.

"The judge told me the verdict. Why did you do this to those people? To yourself? To _us_?" his son asked earnestly.

"I had no choice, Natsume." Kuro quietly said.

"People always have a choice! Don't give me some bull shit answer." Natsume angrily replied, then softening his tone, "With Mom and Aoi gone… you're all I have left, Dad. But now even you're leaving…"

Kuro embraced his son as several tears escaped from his eyes, "I'm sorry Natsume, but everything I did was for you. So please don't make the same mistakes as I did. Be happy, and stay true to yourself. Don't forget who you are in the end."

"I'm sorry to intrude Mr. Hyuuga, but your son has to leave now." A man said.

"Isn't there something you can do for my father?" Natsume pleaded, "Is a death sentence really necessary?"

"Your father has committed the worst crimes a human being can commit. The justice system is here to make everything righteous. How do you think the other families felt when they lost a family member, young man?" the man said sternly.

Natsume remained quiet, but still didn't intend on giving up on his father. "Is it possible that I may speak to the prosecutor?"

"You're already talking to him, I am Izumi Yukihara."

Natsume stared into the man's eyes, and clenched his fists in fury.

"Natsume…" Kuro started, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Stop. There's no saving me now. I deserve this."

"But dad-"

Kuro shook his head with a sad smile, "The only regret that I have now is that I won't be able to be there for you, or see you grow up into the fine man I know you will be."

The prosecutor began to lead Kuro Hyuuga away. "Wait!" Natsume exclaimed.

"Time is up, young man." The prosecutor said.

Kuro turned to embrace Natsume for the last time, "Good bye Natsume, I love you."

Natsume never wanted to let go, he tried his hardest to keep a hold on his father; the only person he had left. Several police officers had to hold him down so that they could take his father away. All he could do was let tears flow down his face and watch people take away his father away from him for forever.

-0-

_2 Months later._

After the death of his father, he was placed in the home of his other relatives. But he was someone that was full of hatred, and resentment. He caused trouble for every one of his caretakers, and in the end no one wanted him. He did whatever he had to get by on his own. It didn't matter if he had to steal or threaten people, he didn't care anymore. Natsume Hyuuga was a completely different person now.

It was a rainy day, and as usual Natsume was walking around aimlessly, and hungry. His clothes were ragged and torn. His hair was matted, and long to the point where it covered his eyes. He dragged his feet across the wet pavement as he felt his eyes drooping. He was about to give in and close his eyes. A part of him wanted to close his eyes and to just give up, while another part of him knew that he had to survive to take revenge for his father.

He staggered on for a few more steps before his feet slipped in a puddle and he his body heavily fell towards the pavement.

"Fuck." He muttered to himself. He tried to use his arms to lift himself from the ground, but from the all the fatigue that he had, his arms gave up on him as he fell back down to the ground. He laid on the ground lifelessly for the next few minutes as the rain continued to fall all around him.

"I guess this is it for me…" he thought before he closed his eyes.

He had only closed his eyes for a couple minutes before he felt someone began to lift him up.

He reopened his eyes, "What the?"

"A young boy like you shouldn't be laying outside in the rain like this."

Natsume stared at the person in front of him, "You don't seem to be that much older than me."

Ignoring this statement, "I'll take you back home. You can join us."

"Us?" Natsume questioned.

"The rest of my family."

Natsume began to protest but suddenly all of his energy went away, and his world became black.

When Natsume woke up; he was in a room on a bed, clothed in decent clothes and his hair was combed out. There were shoes next to the bedside, and Natsume slid his feet in them before he walked out.

When he got out of the room, he came into a hallway. At the end of the hallway he heard loud voices.

"Are you dumb, he obviously cheated!"

"I did not."

"Let's let Roy figure this out."

Natsume then made his appearance into the brightly lit room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him.

"And sleeping beauty awakes." Someone muttered.

"Reo…" Someone warned.

A boy around the same age as Natsume walked up to him, "Hey man, how you feeling?"

Natsume scrutinized the person in front of him, "It's you. I saw you before I passed out."

The boy smirked, "I know. I'm Roy. What's your name?"

"Natsume, how long have I been sleeping for?"

"Three days. We thought you were going to die." Roy said sheepishly.

"Three days, huh?" Natsume mused, "That's a lot of sleeping." Then suddenly Natsume's stomach growled.

Roy chuckled softly, "Come closer to the table, Misa should be almost finished preparing the food."

Natsume followed Roy towards the center of the room. "Where am I?" Natsume asked.

"The meeting area of the Blood members." Someone said, walking into the room.

"The Blood?" Natsume repeated.

"Yes, it's a group of people just like you, Natsume."

"Just like me…?"

"People who have no one left, and have a certain purpose in mind to live."

Natsume remained quiet.

"How would you like it, if you were to join the Blood, Natsume?" the person asked.

"To join…?" Natsume repeated hesitatingly.

"You can always decline the offer if you want. But if you were to join, the people here," he paused to gesture to the all the people in the room, "They would become your new family. And we'll help you get revenge on your father."

"My father?" Natsume asked, "How do you know about my father?" he demanded.

"Don't worry," the person reassured, "I did a little research on you while you were out for the past 3 days. I can't just let anyone stay here without knowing who they are."

Natsume remained quiet, and the person continued. "Natsume Hyuuga. Age 16. No more living relatives. Mother and sister died in a car crash. Father died two months ago in a death sentence after being prosecuted by the State Prosecutor, Izumi Yukihara. Am I right?"

Someone in the background let out a low whistle, "That's a long list…"

"Poor kid…" someone else muttered.

"You're right…" Natsume said slowly.

"You'd be warmly welcomed here, Natsume. We could be your new family. Your decision." The person said soothingly.

"I'll join." Natsume declared.

The person smiled, "That's great to hear. Welcome to the Blood, and welcome to your new family. I'm Eric."

Natsume turned around to face the other people in the room and saw them all smiling back at him.

"However," Eric began, "Before you truly become a member… there's something that you have to do."

"What do I have to do?"

"You have to prove yourself."

"How?" Natsume inquired.

"By killing Izumi Yukihara and his family."

Natsume stayed quiet. "Isn't that what you wanted to do in the first place, Natsume?" Eric asked.

"Definitely." Natsume said. "When do I do it?"

Eric chuckled, "Not now. But I would say… in about 2-3 months. We have to prepare you for it."

Natsume nodded.

"Now that that's settled, it looks like Misa is done with the food. Let us feast in celebration of our new family member today!" Eric said as people gathered around the table.


	2. Initiation

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. All credits go to the creator, Tachibana Higuchi.**_

* * *

_December 31__st. _

Three months have passed since Natsume has joined the Blood. The only thing left was his initiation which was supposed to be happening soon. Eric has been helping him on honing his fighting skills, and soon it was evident that he quickly became one of Eric's favorite. Everyone regarded Eric highly, and even considered him to be their "leader".

Natsume's birthday passed two weeks ago when he finally turned sixteen. He remembered Eric planning a big party for his 16th birthday, and for a moment; that was the happiest he had felt in the longest time.

It was December 31st, the death anniversary of his mother and sister. Natsume decided to travel over to where they were buried at. He was standing in front of the graves of his mother's and his sister, Aoi's. He placed a single rose on each of the grave.

"Hey mom, it's been a while huh?" Natsume began softly, "It's already been two years, and I miss you and Aoi so much. And now dad too. Even he's gone. But all of you are probably happily together in heaven. It's okay though, even if we're not together; I hope all of you are happy. I know I kind of am. I'm finally welcomed somewhere. And Dad, I'm going to finally be able to take revenge for your death."

"Natsume?" Roy interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but Eric's calling for you. He wants to talk to you about something."

"Oh, okay. Give me a few minutes okay?"

"Okay." Roy said.

"I gotta go mom, dad, Aoi. If all goes well… then I'll come back and talk to you guys soon. Bye for now." Natsume said.

-o-

They were back at the meeting room where Eric was already sitting, reading papers.

"I'll talk with you later, Natsume." Roy said, before walking back outside.

"Ah, Natsume. You're back. Sorry to interrupt your moment with your family." He said apologetically.

"It's okay. Roy said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. It's about your initiation. I believe it's time. Are you ready?"

"I've been waiting for this moment. When do I do this?"

"Tomorrow night."

Natsume nodded.

"You know, I have to admit Natsume, I'm surprised." Eric said, chuckling a little.

"Surprised? At what?" Natsume said confusedly.

"Not many people your age would be willing to kill a man and his family so easily without a care."

"Yeah well, I've been through a lot. And after a while, you don't care for anything or anyone but yourself and your own desires." Natsume said bitterly.

"Nicely said." Eric praised.

"You'll be going tomorrow night. And some of us will go tomorrow as back up, just in case anything goes wrong. So get a good rest tonight." Eric continued.

"Thanks, Eric. Anything else?"

"No, that's it. You can go." Eric said dismissively.

-o-

The following day came sooner to Natsume than it should of. He was sitting in the meeting room when Roy came out.

"Hey man, you alright? You look kinda scared." He asked.

"I'm not scared… I'm just, I don't know actually." Natsume chuckled, "It's like, I've been waiting for this moment for forever, but now that I think about it… I'm planning to kill someone."

Roy nodded, understanding the situation. "Don't worry; you're not the only one. I went through the same thing. Actually, all of us here had to undergo an initiation like yours."

"Really?" Natsume asked, "What about the consequences?"

"None." Roy smirked, "We kind of lay low, thus we never get caught. Only some of us are unlucky to get caught for being sloppy in what they do. Plus, Eric looks out for us."

Before Natsume can make a comment, Eric came in.

"It's nighttime. Let's go, Natsume." Eric said, with a group of people behind him.

Everyone got into the car, except for Eric and Natsume. The driver was already in the driver's seat, and everyone got situated in the car.

"Wait Natsume," Eric called out, holding out a set of black clothes. "Change into this, it'll conceal you better." He said.

"Alright." Natsume said nervously, heading back into the house to change. "Wait. This too." Eric said, handing him a Glock 20 Pistol. "You'll be needing this."

Natsume tentatively took the killing weapon into his hands. It felt cold, heavy and abnormal for him to be holding it.

* * *

They were outside the home of Izumi Yukihara, and Natsume could see the lights were on through the open windows. He saw a family of three, sitting around a table, while laughing. All the doubt and fear that he felt vanished, and replacing it was resentment for Izumi. _He'll finally get what he deserves today_, Natsume thought.

"You know what to do, right?" Eric asked.

"Yeah."

"Then good luck."

-o-

Natsume got out of the car, pulled the mask over his face, positioned the gloves over his hands, and placed the gun in its holster on the side where no one would be able to see it at first glance.

He darted across the street and knocked on the door 3 times.

"Hold on, I'm coming." He heard a lady say.

He gulped and knew what he had to do right when the lady opened the door. He placed his hand on the gun…

"Who is it?" the lady asked when she opened the door.

Natsume placed his other hand over her mouth and suffocated her until she went limp. He moved the body into the house while stepping into the house and closed the door.

"Who is it, Yuka?" Izumi asked.

Natsume stepped into Izumi's path.

"Who are you?" Izumi demanded, stepping in front of a girl.

Natsume then realized the 'Happy Birthday!' banners decorated around the living room. _It must be this girl's birthday today._

"What did you do to my wife?" He demanded, "Yuka?" he called out.

"Don't make a sound. This is what you deserve." Natsume said coldly, pulling out a gun.

Izumi's eyes widened at the site of the gun. "Please don't do this." He pleaded, "I'll give you anything you want!"

"How about my dead father back then?" Natsume shouted, "CAN YOU BRING HIM BACK?"

Confusion flashed through Izumi's eyes, "Are you… that boy from before?"

Natsume took off his mask. His crimson eyes blazed with anger. "I'm glad that you remember." He bitterly said.

Natsume held the pistol at shooting range.

"You don't want to take this path, young man." Izumi warned, "It'll only bring you nothing but trouble in the future. You're still young. Don't be like your father."

"Don't you dare bring up my father."

Izumi was about to rebuttal with a comment, but he was interrupted when the girl behind him said, "Dad? What's going on?"

Izumi turned around slightly, "I'm not sure, darling. It'll be okay though. Don't worry."

Natsume snorted. "Oh no, you should worry. Everything's not going to be okay."

Izumi faced Natsume. "Please, don't do this." He pleaded again.

"There's a popular phrase that people say: 'An eye for an eye.' Or in this case, _'A life for a life.'_" Natsume said, pulling the trigger after he aimed at the chest.

Izumi fell down immediately and a pool of blood surrounded his body. During this time, Natsume was able to fully look at the girl who didn't seem to be that much younger than he was.

She looked scared to death as she stepped away from the growing pool of blood. Her body was trembling while tears began to stream down, as she sat down on the floor.

Natsume placed his mask back on, and took a step towards her, while she remained where she was.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Fourteen." She replied quietly, her voice shaking.

"Are you going to kill me too?" she blurted.

Natsume glanced outside the window and saw the car that Eric and the other Blood members were in. He glanced back at the girl's scared face which was streaked with tears that were streaming down her face.

**"_Kill Izumi Yukihara and his family."_**

Natsume knew that those were Eric's order, but he couldn't bring himself to kill this girl. He heard her trying to calm her sobbing.

"Until the car leaves, duck under the window, and when the car leaves, leave the house and go somewhere safe." Natsume said.

"The car?" the girl asked.

"Across the street."

"Why aren't you going to kill me?" she asked, "Aren't I a witness of the crime?"

"I don't know. I don't feel like killing you." Natsume said.

Natsume aimed at a flower vase on a nearby table, and pulled the trigger.

"Why did you do that?" the girl exclaimed.

"To make it sound like I killed you." Natsume said, walking back towards the front door, leaving the girl where she was.

He was about to open the door, and with his back turned, "I know it probably won't make a difference, but I'm sorry." He said earnestly. "And remember, leave _after_ the car leaves. It'd probably be best if you wait a while too." He said, stepping out of the house and darted across the street to get back into the car.

-o-

"I assume everything went according to plan?" Eric asked.

"Yep." Natsume replied nonchalantly.

Eric smiled, while the others cheered. "Well, then you are now officially, a member of the Blood." Eric said.

"How did you feel, Natsume?" someone asked.

"It felt great, didn't it? To be able to finally get revenge." Someone said.

"Yeah…" Natsume said distantly, "Felt great." He repeated.

* * *

Over the next couple years, Natsume kept on following Eric's orders; killing various people for some absurd reason. And steadily, everyone in the Blood could tell that Natsume became a different person. No one ever saw him unless Eric called for him to do something for him. Natsume spent his nights alone, and no one knew what he did or where he was at.

After that fateful night at the Izumi's house, Natsume seemed to change into someone so cold; changed into someone that didn't even know who he was anymore.


	3. Crossed Paths

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. All credits go to the creator, Tachibana Higuchi.**_

* * *

_Present time; March 23__rd__, 2012_

There was only one light illuminating throughout the whole office, and that light came from Mikan Sakura's desk. Many sheets of papers were scattered on her messy desk, in addition with all the half filled cups of cold coffee sitting on the desk. She was shuffling through several folders until she let out a long sigh.

"I will never finish this case." She mumbled to herself, "Why are there no leads to this group of people, I swear to god…"

She was startled when her office door suddenly opened.

"Mikan? What are you still doing here? It's already 8 PM."

She glanced up, and realized that it was only her co-worker, Ruka Nogi. She held up the files that were in her hand and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I was going to leave soon either way." She said. "Wait. Why are _you_ here?" she added curiously.

Ruka scratched his head with a sheepish smile, "I was on my home and I realized I forgot my phone and other stuff in my office. So here I am."

Mikan laughed. "You're so forgetful." She said.

Ruka grinned, "Only sometimes." Ruka tone suddenly became serious, "You shouldn't push yourself to try to finish this case as soon as possible, Mikan. Your health is going to spiral downward since you dedicate so many hours into this case."

Mikan waved her hand dismissively, "Don't worry about me Ruka, I'm as healthy as a horse."

Ruka only shook his head, "That's what they all say… But either way, before your friend Hotaru left, she told me to watch out for you. She said that you tend to "push things to the limit". And that if I didn't do anything to stop you, she'd do terrible things to me." He finished with a shudder.

Mikan raised a brow. "Terrible things?" she repeated, "Like what?"

"I don't know. I ran away before she could finish the sentence."

Mikan laughed again, and this time; for a much longer time, and Ruka started to laugh along with her. "You're such a wimp, Ruka." Mikan teased.

"All jokes aside, I'm serious. You should take some time for yourself, and stop worrying about trying to track down the Blood. Many of us are working on the case, not just you. I'm sure all of our combined efforts will find _something _in the end_._" Ruka reassured.

"You're right," Mikan said finally with a small smile, "I should get going now then."

Ruka smiled, "Do you need a ride home? I can take you."

Mikan shook her head, "I'm alright; my house is pretty close to the office so it doesn't matter." She said while gathering her things.

He nodded slowly, "Alright then. I'll see you on Monday. Have a good weekend, Mikan." He said before walking out of the office. Suddenly he stuck his head back in and said, "Remember! Take some time for yourself; don't even touch your work this weekend!"

Mikan giggled, "Alright alright, you got it."

Ruka smiled once more before finally leaving the office.

-o-

Mikan stepped into the bus and saw that there were only a few people there. Everyone looked tired after a full day of work. Even the bus driver looked dispirited. But Mikan still tried to remain cheerful to everyone, despite feeling weary herself.

She deposited her bus fare into the money taker, "Good evening sir." She chirped to the bus driver.

The bus driver made no comment back, but only a grunting sound.

She walked to the middle of the bus and sat next to the window. Even after leaving the office, her mind was still filled with all the information that she could find about the Blood. What she couldn't figure out was their motive for doing what they did. Or how even though these crimes have been committed, only a few of them were caught and underwent the punishment that they deserved.

Ruka's voice suddenly popped into her head, _"Take some time for yourself; don't even touch your work this weekend!"_ She shook her head, trying to get rid of the case that has been in her mind for the past several months. Or well, trying to get rid it out of her head for this weekend.

"Final bus stop at Haruno city." The bus driver announced.

Mikan looked up and realized that she was the only person left. She scrambled out of her seat and thanked the bus driver before she stepped out of the bus.

When she stepped out the cold, night air enveloped her; making her wish she had a thicker jacket on. She started walking towards the direction of her house which was only about a ten minute walk; until she thought she heard someone behind her.

"Hello?" she called out tentatively while turning around, "Who's there?"

There were no dependable light sources in this area during nighttime. The only light sources were the flickering lamp posts that were scattered throughout the street. When Mikan turned around, there was nobody there.

"I must be hearing things…" she muttered to herself. But she couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching her. She picked up her pace and decided to hum to herself to make herself feel more at ease.

Then suddenly, a stranger's hand clamped her mouth. "Hey pretty lady, you should go out with me tonight." The stranger throatily said.

Mikan tried to struggle against the stranger's grasp and tried to elbow his stomach but to no avail. She tried to scream but no sound came out since her mouth was muffled. She looked around desperately but there was no one to save her. But she knew she shouldn't give up, she stepped on the man's foot with her heel and he released his grip on her for a second. But a second was all Mikan needed. She sprinted as fast as she could away from the man, only to be caught again.

"You little bitch, don't think that it's going to be that easy to run away from me." He said, grabbing hold of her like he did before, but this time; placing a sharp blade next to her throat.

* * *

It was nighttime, and Natsume spent his nights alone doing whatever he wanted. For some reason it just didn't feel _right _to be hanging with the other Blood members anymore. To him, it didn't feel like a "family" like they called it, but rather a hell hole. He didn't want to be a part of it anymore, killing innocent people, taking away something precious to them; it was too much for Natsume to handle.

When he mentioned that he wanted to quit to Eric two years ago, that was the first time Eric unleashed his anger on him. For one full week, Natsume was tortured for even thinking of "quitting the family."

"_**Once you get in, you can't get out." Eric spat.**_

Natsume walked around aimlessly until he heard a man talking, "You little bitch," he heard. He scrutinized the darkness and made out two people, and saw someone struggling. It was a split second decision but he decided to come over there to investigate.

-o-

"Now, when I let go of my hand, I want you to be a good girl and don't make a sound." The man said.

Mikan knew that it was risky to try to run again, and scanned the area once more. At the corner of her eye she thought she saw someone in the shadows. She had to make a decision; whether to risk that he would be a Good Samaritan and help her if she yelled out, or just stay quiet and hope that she would be okay in the end.

When the man let go of her mouth, she decided on the former.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" She shouted into the darkness. Before she could do something to protect herself, a fist came into contact with her face. She felt blood trickle down her lip. The man took her captive once more.

"It seems like you don't want to live. I said not to make a sound, didn't I?" he spat.

Mustering up her courage, "You said not to make _a _sound, which means _one _sound. I made more than one sound. So technically, I listened to you." She said.

Another punch came to her face, but this time the force was so heavy that she staggered down to the ground.

"You think you're a smart little bitch, don't you? Well…" he said, using one arm to choke her, and his other arm held a knife.

Mikan felt her breathing become unsteady as her eyelids slowly drooped down. Then suddenly the stranger's grip on her throat was released and the man fell backwards with a thump.

Mikan blinked several times as she sat back up and stared at the man laying lifelessly on the floor, with his own knife pressed into his back. She started coughing as her breathing became steady. She looked up and saw someone towering her.

-o-

"It's not smart to walk at night by yourself." said the person, holding out his hand.

Mikan took his hand into her own, and he pulled her up. "Thanks… for saving me." She said quietly.

The person released her hand. "No problem." He said as he stared at her.

The area they were in hand one lamp post, but even with that; it was hard for Mikan to observe her rescuer.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Mikan asked quizzically.

The person stretched his arm out, and his fingers brushed against Mikan's cheeks. Then he withdrew his arm and showed his fingers to Mikan. "You had a little blood."

Mikan blinked several times. "Oh. Thanks, I guess." She said, before her own hand reached up to touch her face. There was a definite bump growing from the punch.

The stranger nodded, and started to walk away. And for some reason, Mikan felt compelled to follow him.

"Wait, what's your name?" She asked.

"Does it matter?" he asked, not breaking his stride.

"Yes it does." She declared, while keeping up with his pace.

The person gave an eye roll, "Natsume." He said before he ran off.

Mikan didn't bother to run after him, but only stood in place while watching him run off.

"Thanks again, Natsume!" she called out.

Without bothering to turn around, the only response that she got from Natsume was a backward wave as he continued to run.

* * *

By the time Mikan got home, she immediately went to her restroom to clean up her injuries. She got a warm, wet towel and gingerly wiped her face to get rid of the blood streaks that were on her cheek. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and knew that for the next couple of days the bruises on her faces were going to be hard to cover, even if she used make up.

After thoroughly cleaning her injuries, she decided that a nice hot shower was what she needed to relieve herself after the gruesome day. After her shower, she wrapped a towel over her damp hair and went to the kitchen to boil an egg.

"Momma always said that rubbing a boiled egg on the face would make the bruises go down…" she murmured to herself.

Settling herself down on a chair, she absent mindedly rolled the egg over her cheek. Suddenly, Natsume popped into her mind.

"I wonder why he was there in the first place…" she mused. She then mentally slapped herself, "I didn't even ask him for his last name. Now I'll never find him again." She groaned. "Hm, I wonder if he's going to be at the bus station again on Monday…"

She stood up and decided that she rolled the egg around on her place, so she placed the egg in a bowl and removed the towel and walked back to her restroom. She tousled her hair one last time with her towel before putting the tower back on the hanger. She began to brush her hair before heading to her room.

Settling herself into her bed, she made herself comfortable. But usually it would take a while for Mikan to fall asleep, but not tonight. After all the events that happened tonight, her eyes closed right after she felt comfortable as she drifted off to dreamland.


	4. Meeting the Light

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. All credits go to the creator, Tachibana Higuchi.**_

* * *

It was a bright Monday morning as Mikan opened the door to the office with extravagance, causing everyone to look at her. When people saw, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

"Good morning; I bought us donuts!" she sang, holding up a pink box.

Several mouths gaped out, as they continued staring at her.

"What's wrong? You guys act as if you just saw a ghost…" she said, laughing nervously.

"We kind of are." Someone piped.

Mikan raised a brow, and settled the box down on the nearest desk. "I am not a ghost." She declared.

"No you're not, but it is only 10 AM and you're at work, when you usually come in at noon. And you seem to be pretty jubilant and awake." Ruka clarified sheepishly.

Mikan laughed, "I guess you're right." She admitted sheepishly.

The door opened with a bang again, causing everyone to shift their attention to it.

"WHOA. Did someone buy donuts?" the person asked with a booming voice.

Choruses of "Morning boss" and "Hey there, Tsubasa" echoed throughout the room, as the person stepped in.

"I did." Mikan said, after the room quieted down again.

Tsubasa looked up to identify the person that said that. "What the hell?" he asked, causing everyone to undergo fits of laughter.

Mikan rolled her eyes, "Here we go again…" she muttered.

"What are you doing here so early?"

"Is it a crime to be here early?" Mikan demanded, crossing her arms. "I will never come early again." She huffed.

"Did something good happen over the weekend?" Anna, another co-worker asked.

"SHE GOT LAID." Someone shouted, which induced more fits of laughter to be heard around the room.

Mikan just shook her head, as Tsubasa laughed. He threw his arm over her shoulder, "Well, it's good that you're here early. I needed to talk to you. Let's go into my office." He said, guiding her.

"You too, Nogi. Come into my office. Everyone back to work." He called out behind his shoulder.

* * *

"So during the weekend, I actually found something out." Tsubasa began.

"Like what?" Ruka and Mikan asked in unison.

"The name of the Blood leader! It's Eric!" Tsubasa announced proudly.

"That's it?" Mikan said deadpanned, "Just his name?"

Tsubasa winked, "Let's not fret, Mikan dear." Then suddenly his tone suddenly changed into something serious. "I sat down this weekend, and went through all of cases where the Blood was related at. I figured out a pattern." He paused for a second.

"And?" Ruka said.

Tsubasa cleared his throat. "Well, this goes back to more than a decade ago. Apparently, it seems that the Blood members are made up of a group of people who are seeking some type of "revenge" on people."

"Revenge?" Mikan repeated. "How so?"

"I was just getting to that." He cleared his throat once more, "As I was saying, their members seem to have some purpose that deals with revenge. There was a case couple years ago, before you and Ruka came into the line of work. A sister was killed by a drive-by shooting, and so her sister spent the next years of her life seeking revenge. So she joined the Blood and got her revenge. But then, she was sloppy in one of her later crimes and got convicted to a death sentence."

"But how do you _know_ that that's their motive?" Mikan pressed on.

"Because before she was sentenced, the prosecutor that was on her case talked to her about it. According to the information on the file, her exact words were: 'I did it for revenge, for my sister.' "

"But you said that she committed other crimes too. Why did she kill other people if she joined just to avenge her sister?" Ruka asked.

"That's a good question, thankfully the prosecutor thought about that too and asked her. Hm, let's see… What did she say…" he mused, scanning the contents of the file.

"Ah. Okay, here it is." He continued, "Her exact words: 'I didn't want to do it anymore, after I got my revenge I realized that once you get in, you can't get out. The stakes are so high after the first initiation that I lost who I was.' "

"That's it?" Mikan asked, clearly frustrated. "That's not enough to be able to solve the case. This shows us no leads on who the other current members NOR where their location is to find them!"

"But we made progress. We found their motive." Tsubasa explained, "And that's enough for now."

Ruka nodded, indicating that he agreed with him.

"Also, there's another point I'd like to point out Mikan." Tsubasa began.

Mikan raised a brow, "What is it?"

"Your father was a prosecutor for one of the cases involving the Blood, wasn't he?"

"That's what the files say." She said, "What about it, though?"

"What happened to him?"

"He got killed."

"Why?" Tsubasa asked.

Mikan glared at him, "What do you mean 'why'?" she asked, "You know why."

"I'm trying to get to the point here, Mikan." He explained patiently. "So tell me, why did he get killed?"

Mikan took a deep breath. "From an investigating viewpoint, he got killed because he was the one that prosecuted a father, and the father ended up receiving a death penalty. So the son wanted revenge and I'm pretty sure you know the rest." Mikan paused, "But from a personal view point, I don't know why he got killed. He did nothing wrong, he was just doing his job." She added quietly.

"It's strange though. On that day, both of your parents were killed, but you were kept alive. Why is that?" Tsubasa questioned.

"I don't know." Mikan admitted slowly.

Tsubasa nodded, "I see."

"Why did you ask me this? I just basically told you all that you already know." Mikan said.

Tsubasa merely smiled, "It was helpful actually."

"Helpful?" Mikan began, "What do you-"

"Mikan," Ruka said, "Let's just trust Tsubasa, okay?"

Mikan glanced to the side at Ruka. "Why are both of you acting so strange?" she asked.

"We're not. It's just… things just got more personal now." Ruka said.

"Personal?" Mikan repeated. "How so?"

"Because now, that just gives us more reason to stop the Blood and its ways so that no one can lose someone important to them anymore." Ruka said.

Tsubasa nodded. "Well said, Ruka. We'll continue on this investigation. You guys can go."

-o-

Mikan and Ruka were walking out of Tsubasa's office when suddenly Ruka stopped Mikan.

"Can we go outside to talk, Mikan?" Ruka asked.

Mikan looked at him strangely, "Sure." She replied.

When they were outside of the building, sounds of cars passing by were the first things that Mikan heard.

-o-

"So what's up, Ruka?" she asked cheerfully.

"Your face." He said simply.

Mikan looked at him quizzically, "My face?"

Ruka sighed, "Just because no one else noticed, doesn't mean I didn't. There are green and purple contours on your face. There seems to be a little bump too." He explained, "What happened?"

Mikan stared at him. She was so sure that no one would have realized it. She thought that the makeup would have done its job and covered the imperfections on her face.

"It's nothing, Ruka. It's nothing to worry about." She said with a smile.

He sighed and crossed his arms. "You're lying." He pointed out, "Why can't you tell me?" he added.

Mikan sighed and knew that Ruka wouldn't give up until he found out. "Last Friday, on the way home, I was attacked,"

"Attacked?" Ruka repeated incredulously, "Oh my God, is that why you have a bruise on your face? Oh god, what did he do to you?" He finished, clutching her shoulders.

She pushed him away gently. "I'm okay now. Luckily, someone was there to save me." She finished with a small smile.

"This never would have happened if you just had let me take you home." Ruka said, shaking his head. "From now on, I'm going to take you home everyday so that this will never happen."

"No." Mikan said sharply, earning a surprised expression on Ruka's face.

"I mean, it's okay; you don't have to go through all that trouble." Mikan said, softening her tone.

"Why not?" Ruka argued, "It's no trouble. Besides this way, you getting attacked will never happen again."

Mikan stared at him evenly. "When I moved out of Jii-chan's house two years ago, I told myself that I was going to depends on myself, and only myself."

Both of them had their eyes locked on each other until Ruka sighed. "You're not going to change your mind, aren't you?"

"Nope."

Ruka sighed again, but smiled. "At least be more careful when you're going home. And try to go home at a reasonable hour where there's still daylight and people around you."

Mikan winked, "You got it." She replied cheerfully. "I'm going back in to finish up on some more work. Anything else you wanted to talk about, Ruka? She added.

He shook his head, "You go ahead; I'll be in there soon."

-o-

Several hours past and soon enough it was 4 PM. People in the office started gathering their things to go home.

"Bye guys, see you tomorrow!" Anna said cheerfully.

"Are you leaving?" Mikan asked, with a medium box in her arms. "I'll walk you out."

"Mhm! My sister Nonoko is coming back today from New York so I wanted to get home earlier to prepare something for her."

"Nonoko?" Mikan repeated, "I haven't seen her since forever! It'd be great if we could all catch up one day" she gushed.

Anna smiled, "Yeah! That'd be nice. Maybe this weekend or something, if you're not busy; we all know how busy you can get."

Mikan laughed. "I can always make time for the amazing sisters."

They were standing outside of the building, in the parking lot. "Where are you headed, Mikan?" Anna asked.

"To the bus stop."

"Really? Let me give you a lift then."

"It's alright. It's not that far." Mikan said offhandedly.

"I go in that direction either way, get in!" Anna said.

Mikan sighed resignedly, but got in grudgingly.

"Thanks for the lift, Anna. And tell Nonoko I said hi!" Mikan said through the car window, after she got out.

"No problem! And I'll tell her." Anna responded with a smile, before driving away.

Mikan got into the bus, and unlike yesterday it was much more packed with people.

"_I wonder if I'm going to see him today…"_ She thought to herself.

Minutes passed and the bus stopped, "Last stop for Haruno City." The bus driver announced.

As Mikan stepped out, she looked around for a specific person; but to no avail. She stood in place for a few more minutes before sighing dejectedly. _"I guess he's not here."_ She thought.

"You look like you're looking for someone." a voice said behind her.

Mikan turned around. "Natsume!" she said with a bright smile.

"That's me." He said. "Were you looking for me?" he asked with a smirk.

"Something like that." Mikan admitted sheepishly.

They both started walking, until Mikan seated herself down on a bench.

"You never told me your name." Natsume stated.

"You're right…" She mused, "Mikan Sakura!" she said cheerfully.

Natsume nodded. "Well then, Mikan; were you looking for me?" Natsume asked, sitting down next to her.

Mikan shrugged, "Kinda, not sure."

"I think I know." Natsume said suddenly.

She raised a brow, "Oh really, now? Why was I looking for you then?"

"Because after Friday, you realized that you had fallen in love with me. And you wanted to see me again." He finished with a smirk.

Mikan blinked several times before breaking out into laughter. "Oh man, you're a funny one!" she said, slapping her hand on the box on her lap.

Natsume raised a brow, "That wasn't what I was aiming for, but okay."

"Why are you here, Natsume?" Mikan asked, after laughing.

"Was just in the neighborhood." He said simply.

"Are you okay?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah! I'm perfectly fine." She said, waving her hand dismissively. She couldn't help but notice that Natsume was staring at her, but then he just shook his head.

"What's in the box?" he asked, taking it from her lap and shook it. "Sounds like a shitload of paper."

Mikan laughed. "It _is _a poopload of paper." She agreed, "It's just papers regarding this case I'm working on."

Natsume rolled his eyes in amusement. "A case, huh? What are you? A detective?"

"Eh, something like that. Well technically, I'm a lawyer but I only take up cases if I find them interesting, but most of the time I work more with the Research and Information department."

Natsume nodded, "What are you researching on then?"

"I'm trying to find more information on the Blood to stop them from doing what they're doing."

Silence.

"Natsume?" Mikan asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. Just didn't expect that." He said finally.

Mikan nodded understandably. "That makes sense. A lot of people had given up on this case because even after so long, no one was able to come up with something solid."

"Not that." Natsume interjected, "I'm surprised that you didn't curse them and complain how they're all bad people."

Mikan shook her head slowly. "I don't think they're bad people."

Natsume stared at her with disbelief. "You don't think they're bad people?" he repeated incredulously, "They killed people. If that's not bad, then what is?"

"That's true." Mikan agreed, "But I'm sure most of them had a reason for doing what they did. And just because a person says or does bad things, doesn't mean that they're a bad person in the end."

Natsume remained quiet. "So I want to be to find them and stop them from continuing what they're doing." Mikan continued.

"What good does that do? Just because you try to talk to them, that doesn't mean that they'll change. Nor does it bring back the people they killed." Natsume said quietly.

"No, it doesn't. But everyone can change if they want to, it's their choice. And I think that if you try to understand them then you'll be able to prevent more people like them in the future. Which is why, rather than putting a death sentence on them like the past cases has been, I think it'd be better if they were allowed to live." Mikan said.

More silence.

"But what if they don't deserve to live?" Natsume murmured with his head lowered.

"You're wrong." Mikan said loudly, causing Natsume to look back up. "Everyone deserves to live. A life shouldn't be something that you can easily throw it away."

There was a prolonged silence between them as Natsume absorbed the words that she said.

"Has anyone told you that you're a good person?" Natsume asked with a small smirk.

Mikan grinned in response, "I've heard it a couple times."

There was a sudden loud growl coming from Mikan's stomach.

"Gee, you sound hungry." Natsume said sarcastically.

"I am!" Mikan exclaimed, missing the sarcasm. "I didn't eat lunch today." She said with a pout.

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Do you like ramen?" he asked.

"I love it!" Mikan replied.

He stood up. "Let's go, then. I know a good place." He said, "It'd be the perfect place if _he _didn't own it." He muttered quietly.

"What'd you say? I couldn't hear you."

"Nothing."

* * *

The doors chimed open as Natsume and Mikan walked in.

"Welcome to Naga Naga! How may I-" a man said, "Natsume?" he exclaimed.

"Oh dear god." Natsume muttered.

The man speed walked to Natsume, opening his arms.

Natsume held his arm out at arm distance, "Stay the fuck away from me, Narumi." He said darkly.

Narumi paid no attention to Natsume's warning as he gathered him into his arms. Natsume stiffly stood in place.

Mikan laughed as she witnessed at how awkward Natsume was acting.

"And who's this young lady?" Narumi asked, letting go of Natsume. "Is she _new?"_ he asked Natsume, with a pointed look on his face.

Natsume shook his head. "No, she's-"

"A friend." Mikan finished with a smile.

There was relief in Narumi's voice as he said, "Well, any friend of Natsume is a friend of mine." He smiled. "So how may I help you today?"

-o-

Mikan gulped down the last drops from her cup of water. As she placed her cup back on the table, she eyed Natsume's untouched cup.

"Are you going to drink that?" she asked innocently.

He rolled his eyes, "Be my guest."

"Thanks." She said gratefully, before reaching for the cup.

Natsume studied Mikan as she started gulping the water. "Since it's so obvious that you can't handle spicy foods, why'd you order the spiciest thing on the menu?" he asked.

Mikan placed the cup back down on the table. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, "Because Natsume," she began, "Ramen only tastes good if it's spicy!" she explained, crumpling up the napkin.

He only rolled his eyes in response.

"Which way is it to the restroom?" Mikan asked.

"Go straight, second door to your left."

Mikan nodded, and got up. On her way there, she passed Narumi.

"Heading to the restroom?" he asked.

"Mhm!"

"Second door to your left." Narumi said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's what Natsume said." She responded cheerfully, before walking past him.

-o-

Narumi sat in the seat across Natsume.

"How was the food?"

"It was shitty. You should stop cooking, and close the shop." Natsume said easily.

Narumi feigned a hurt expression, "Your words hurt my heart." He said, placing his fist over his chest.

Natsume rolled his eyes.

"She seems like a nice girl. What's her name?"

"Mikan."

"Does Eric know about her?" Narumi asked.

"No."

"Does she know about you?"

"No."

"Do you plan on telling her?"

"No."

"Do you intend on seeing her again?"

"…I don't know." Natsume said slowly.

"Do you want to know what I think, Natsume?"

"I don't really care." Natsume said boredly.

Ignoring this, "I think you should continue seeing her. I have a feeling she's going to do wonders to your cold, brooding attitude." He said, clapping his hands together.

"Are you saying I have a cold, brooding attitude?" Natsume asked, raising a brow.

"More or less." Narumi said with a smile.

A few seconds later, Mikan approached the table, and took the seat next to Natsume's.

"Narumi! Your ramen tasted amazing." She exclaimed

"Thank you, Mikan." He said, smiling. Shifting his gaze towards Natsume, "You should be like Mikan, Natsume."

"Whatever." He said.

"I've known Natsume for the past 5 years and he has only complimented on my cooking twice. Only twice!" Narumi explained to Mikan.

"But earlier he told me that he knew a good ramen place, and he took me here. Does that mean he subtly praised your cooking?" Mikan asked thoughtfully.

Narumi grinned devilishly.

"You just had to say that, didn't you?" Natsume groaned.

"Mikan-chan. Do you want to hear some stories of Natsume as a rebellious teenager?" Narumi asked suddenly.

"Yes!" she said laughing.

Then suddenly, taking Mikan's box in one hand, and her hand in his other; he pulled her out of her seat.

"It's time to go." Natsume said gruffly.

"W-wait! We didn't even pay yet!" Mikan protested.

"It's on the house." Narumi assured.

They were already near the door as Mikan called out behind her shoulder, "Thanks for the food, Narumi!"

"Come back anytime!" he called back.

Narumi watched their retreating backs. "She's going to definitely change him…" he said to himself.

* * *

Natsume pulled her until they were a block away.

"I was just about to hear your stories!" Mikan said, pouting.

He smirked, "You're never going to hear my stories."

"Don't underestimate me, Natsume." She said with a wink.

"Where do you live? I'll walk you back home." Natsume said suddenly.

"It's not far from here actually." Mikan pointed out, "Let's go."

-o-

The sun was nearly setting by the time they arrived in front of Mikan's house.

"Looks spacious." Natsume commented.

"Just a little."

Natsume nodded slowly, "Here's your box." He said, handing it over.

"Thanks." Mikan said softly.

"I'll get going now." He said.

"Wait." Mikan said, "Am I going to see you again?"

Natsume stared at her. "Do you want to see me?"

Mikan quickly nodded.

"Then you'll see me." He said simply.

"How? I don't even know your last name! I don't even know how to contact you." She wailed.

Natsume chuckled softly. "Hyuuga. And don't worry. If you can't find me, I'll find you."

Mikan nodded slowly, processing this information. "Well, okay then." She said.

He smiled a small smile, "I'll see you later then."

Mikan smiled back. "Okay." She said, before walking into her house.

* * *

Natsume turned and started walking back towards Narumi's shop.

"You haven't been coming back." A person said behind him.

Without needing to turn around, Natsume knew exactly who it was.

"I know, Roy." He said without breaking his stride. "That was the point."

"Eric's looking for you."

"Then I'll go back later."

He heard Roy chuckle, "I'm afraid 'later' isn't an option." He said, as a group of people surrounded Natsume.

Natsume turned around to face Roy. "What do you want?" he sneered.

"I don't want anything, but Eric does. So come on. Let's go back." Roy explained.

Natsume glanced at the ring of people around him. "Let's go, Natsume." Roy said again.

Glaring at him, "It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice." Natsume said bitterly.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying the chapters :) **

**Reviews& Constructive criticisms would be nice!**


	5. Under the Night Sky

Natsume took brisk steps towards door while sneaking glances behind his shoulder to see if he could have any chance of opting out.

"Don't even bother, Natsume." Roy smirked.

Natsume narrowed his eyes and reached towards the door handle right before it opened.

"Ah! Natsume, well if it isn't my favorite rebel." Eric said pleasantly, "Come in."

Natsume remained silent as he walked behind Eric, "I didn't mean to force you to come here, Natsume" Eric began innocently, "But it's just that you haven't been home for so long and everyone was wondering where you were at."

"That was the point." He muttered.

Before he could even defend himself, Natsume felt a hard punch against his face. "Did I raise you to talk back to me?" Eric asked darkly, "You can go now, Roy. Your work is done." He finished brusquely.

Roy nodded quickly, "Let's go back, guys." He ordered, motioning to the fleet of men behind him.

Natsume brushed his hand across his face, while tasting blood on his lip.

"Come in," Eric ordered as they approached the back room.

"Now that we're alone… can you tell me why you didn't come back these past weeks?" Eric asked, as he closed the door.

Natsume remained silent.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me now and I'll look past this for now. But if this continues…" Eric warned.

"I really don't care." Natsume said bluntly.

In an instant, Eric's face was right in front of Natsume as they both looked at each other squarely.

"You don't care?"

"No, I don't." Natsume said evenly.

The stare down between them was intense that neither of them looked away for a few minutes. Suddenly, Eric sighed and took several steps to sit on the couch in the room.

"Come here, Natsume." He said, patting the seat in front of him.

"I'm okay where I am."

While sighing, "Do you know why I had someone bring you back today?" Eric asked.

"Why?" Natsume responded deadpanned.

"The girl that you were with, do you know who she is?"

"Why?" Natsume asked slowly.

"Because she is going to be your doom. Don't you remember your initiation? Don't you remember that family? Don't you remember that little girl you left alive?"

The image of the hazel eyes laced with fear from four years ago reemerged into his head. He then realized that those hazel eyes were the same from last Friday night…

"It looks like you know who I'm talking about now." Eric said smugly.

"Continuing on, some of my people saw you earlier and they said that you looked pretty happy. As much as I want you to be happy, you don't deserve to be happy with someone else. You are a horrible person, Natsume. You have killed countless people. No one is going to want to be with you when they know what you have done."

A million thoughts rushed through Natsume's mind.

_I killed her parents. I killed countless people. I'm a murderer. I don't deserve to be happy. I'm worthless. _

"But don't worry, Natsume. Even if everyone comes to hate you for what you did, I will always be here for you." Eric said, while reaching out towards him.

"Don't touch me." Natsume bitterly said, jerking back.

* * *

Natsume turned away and started towards the door and threw open the door.

Roy looked up from the paper he was reading and saw Natsume dashing out.

Standing in front of his way, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Get the fuck out of my way." Natsume roughly said before knocking him out of his path.

"Just let him go, Roy. He just needs some time alone." Eric said calmly.

With it being nighttime, Natsume allowed the darkness to envelope him as he ran out of the house and started to run anywhere he could.

Tired from all of the running, he stopped. He looked around to see where he was. Unconsciously, he ran back to Mikan's house. He was befuddled as he slumped against the wall. As he tilted his head up he saw lights that were still on. Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander off.

"_I don't think they're bad people."Mikan said._

"_You are a horrible person, Natsume." Eric stated, "You don't deserve to be happy with someone else."_

"_Everyone deserves to live" Mikan said._

* * *

_You said everyone deserves to live, but does everyone include me?_


	6. Two Worlds

Mikan laid serenely on her until the rays of the lustrous sun peeped through her curtains. Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes and got up to open the curtains fully to allow the light to scatter throughout her whole room. She took a moment to look up at the clear, blue sky with the bright sun shining against it. She felt herself smile, "Today is going to be a good day."

For Natsume, another day meant another day where he had to deal with his sins. It didn't help much for him to be awoken by the sun rays that seemed to be glaring menacingly against his eyes, but found a feasible solution: just turn his back to the sun. It was then where he realized where he was. He found himself laying in a fetal position on top of the concrete sidewalk outside of Mikan's house.

He heard footsteps walking towards him, "What are you doing?" a man sneered.

Natsume looked up to see a man in his 40's with horrendous glasses glaring at him.

"Do you not speak English? What are you doing lying on the sidewalk? This isn't some homeless shelter." The man obnoxiously remarked.

Natsume still lied down on the sidewalk but in a cavalier manner, "I can speak English, and I was sleeping until you started speaking."

The man spluttered, "Do you not know who I am? How dare you talk to me in that manner; you insolent boy!"

It was only then did Natsume get a full view of the man, who had a smirk on his face. At the same time, the man saw that Natsume was studying him apprehensively, so he waited impatiently for him to realize that he was the great Jinno, who was held in high regard in Tokyo.

"Nope, don't know who you are." Natsume offhandedly stated.

Jinno's jaw drop, and thought about all of his accomplishments and wondered how someone could not know who he was. Clearing his voice to produce a sonorous sound, "I am Jinno, and I am one of the major business corporation owners in Tokyo. And you, you are in the neighborhood where only distinguished people can settle in. So quickly now, scurry off before I call the police here."

During Jinno's arrogant soliloquy, the doors of the neighbors began to open cautiously to see what ruckus Jinno was causing this time. At the same time, Mikan opened her door as well, half-dressed for work.

Walking out to the sidewalk in her slippers, "Jinno," she said exasperatedly, "It is only 9 in the morning, what are you yelling about?"

Natsume ears pricked when he heard the sound of Mikan's voice.

"I am just simply telling this young man that we are a distinguished neighborhood and that he cannot just sleep here as if we were a homeless shelter." Jinno replied in an overweening manner.

Mikan looked at the person who Jinno was referring to. At the same moment, Natsume turned to look at her as they both made eye contact. If Mikan was surprised at seeing Natsume lying on the floor, she did a good job on hiding it.

With a smile, "Hey Natsume, sorry that your sleep was disturbed by this person." She said.

"No worries." Natsume replied back with a slight smile.

Jinno looked suspiciously between the two of them, "Do you know him, Mikan?"

Mikan nodded, "He's my friend."

Jinno spluttered, "Your friend?!" he asked incredulously, "Why are you friends with such a barbarian… he was sleeping on the streets!" he said with disgust.

Mikan walked over to where Natsume was lying and brushed shoulders with Jinno. While extending her arm out, "Let's go, Natsume." She said with a smile. She noticed the dubious look on his face but still continued to hold out her arm with the same smile and shook her arm for emphasis. A few seconds later, Natsume slipped his hand into hers as she helped him up. They were about to turn around back to Mikan's house when Jinno's voice boomed through the neighborhood.

With a disgusted tone, "I don't know who raised you to have pity for people like this, Mikan. But I think you need to reconsider who you choose as your friends." Jinno said with disdain.

Natsume felt Mikan's grip on his hand tighten as she replied with a stony tone, "Who I choose as my friends are of no concern to you. If I were you, I would consider my values before discriminating against people." She stated while looking at him squarely in the eyes. There were murmurs amongst the neighbors as they watch the tirade between Mikan and Jinno.

Jinno glared menacingly at Mikan but was unable to utter out a response to her statement. Sensing this, Mikan turned around with Natsume, hand in hand, and walked back towards her house. Seeing that nothing was happening anymore, all of the neighbors closed their doors, while Jinno was the only person left behind on the streets, seething with anger.

"Both of you will regret making a fool out of me..."

* * *

Once Mikan and Natsume were inside the house, Mikan closed the door lightly, but shut her eyes forcefully before heaving a heavy sigh.

"Uh, Mikan?"

She opened her eyes slowly and realized that she was still holding, or rather _squeezing _his hand. "Oh my gosh, sorry!" she blurted quickly, and let go of his hand.

Natsume smirked, "Glad you noticed. My hand felt like it was going to die due to your death grip." He said, as he made exaggerated painful faces while holding his hand delicately.

Mikan scoffed, "My grip could not have that tight. Maybe you're just weak."

He was about to retort when she noticed a slight bruise swelling up and the faint traces of dried blood on his face. "Natsume! What happened to you?" she asked worriedly, while brushing her fingers over the bruise.

He reached up to pull her hand away, "I just got into a fight with someone. Don't worry, it's just a bruise." He said reassuringly.

"Fights are dangerous…"

"I'm not 8 anymore, I can take care of myself." He said teasingly. She still had a dubious expression, "I'll go get something to clean your face up then." She said.

"You don't have to, I get these frequently; they come and go easily." He stated but to no avail as she already went into the hallway to retrieve a first aid kit. "You can sit down, rather than just standing awkwardly, you know." She called out behind her shoulder.

He looked around her living and saw that everything had no specific order but it all looked perfect together. On top of a shelf that was leaning against a wall, he saw a series of pictures lined up, one after another. The first picture was a picture of a lady holding a baby with a man staring at them affectionately.

_It's probably her mother and father. _

The next picture looked like it was taken a few years later, but this time with another man and her father. For some reason, the other man looked familiar to him but he couldn't pinpoint who it reminded him of. Following that was a picture of her at the age of 5 grinning with a front tooth missing with her arm slung around a girl around the same age with a stoic face. The following picture wasn't a couple years apart from the last, Mikan had to be at least in her teens, most likely 15. But unlike the other three pictures, she wasn't surrounded by people nor was she smiling. It was a candid picture of her sitting alone under a Sakura tree with a lonely expression. The next picture jumped ahead a couple years, but this time she was with an old man and it looked like she in the process of laughing while the picture was taken. The subsequent photo looked more recent as she was surrounded with a group of friends with a banner hanging over them that said, "HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, MIKAN!" Natsume couldn't help but notice the pair of arms that was wrapped around her in the picture. The last thing on the shelf was just the frame itself with no content inside.

"Looks like you noticed the pictures." Mikan stated as she walked in with a first aid kit.

Without turning around, "Yeah, there are a lot of pictures." He remarked.

While laughing, "A lot? Please, that is such a small number. You should see my best friend's photo collection; now _that's _a lot."

Turning around to look at her, "Why is there only a picture frame at the end?" he asked.

"I'm still waiting for a perfect moment to put in there." She smiled, "Those pictures are just some moments that are special to me."

She sat down on the couch next to them and patted the seat next to her. As Natsume plopped down on the couch, she opened the kit and got out the alcohol pads to wipe his face with. "Why do you have such a big first aid kit... even the Red Cross would be proud of it." He said sarcastically.

"Really? That's a good thing!" she happily said as she completely missed the sarcasm. "Okay," she said seriously, "Don't move." She tilted his face to one angle to wipe the dried blood off his face, with the alcohol pad. Natsume hitched a quick breath as the alcohol came in contact with his skin.

"Did it hurt?"

"A little"

"You probably had a slight open wound there then. You should stop being involved in fights." She reprimanded, only to receive an eye roll back from him.

While Mikan was doing the treatment, Natsume studied her concentrated face while she was dabbing on some ointment on his face as if this was the most important thing in the world. He wondered how the world could have such a caring person, and while she was a caring, tender person; he was the complete opposite. It was as if they came from two completely, different worlds.

Mikan dabbed the last of the ointment and smiled a bright smile, "Okay, done! The ointment should make the bruise not swell as much in the next couple days."

Natsume blinked several times before uttering out thanks. He glanced over her attire, which consisted of pajama pants and a white fitted button up blouse. "Is this how you usually dress? Half formal, half informal?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" she responded confusedly, while looking down at her clothes. "Oh crap…"

Natsume raised a brow. "I forgot that I was supposed to go to work like…" Mikan looked at the clock which showed that it was now 10:30, "…Like 30 minutes ago…hehe"

"… Why don't you go now then? I shouldn't stay here any longer either." Natsume said.

For some reason, Mikan didn't want him to leave yet and hurriedly said, "It's okay, I'll just call in and say that I won't go to work." She said.

"You can do that?"

"Yeah! I do it several times that people in the office aren't even fazed anymore." She laughed lightly. "So just stay here while I go make some phone calls and change back."

As Mikan walked back to her room, she picked up her cell phone which lied on a nearby table and began to call someone. Natsume could hear her voice becoming more distant as she walked farther and farther away from him. Not knowing what to do, he decided to swing his legs up on the couch to fully lie on the couch. And as he waited for Mikan to come back into the living room, he was unaware that his eyes were slowly closing as he drifted off to dreamland.

"Okay, everything is okay now. I don't have to go to work today!" Mikan exclaimed when she walked back. However, the only thing that greeted her was silence. Furrowing her eyebrows, she looked around the room to see where Natsume was. Spotting a pair of feet that was on the edge of the couch, "Natsume, what are you doing?" she asked wonderingly. As she walked over, she found him sleeping. She smiled gently before walking over to the closet to get a throw blanket. Walking back to where he was sleeping, she placed the blanket on top of him carefully as to not wake him up before walking back to her own room.

* * *

By the time Natsume woke up, the sun was already setting and the room was dark with no sign of Mikan. Sitting up quickly he felt a blanket on top him as he looked around for her but to no avail. However, he suddenly heard things cluttering against each other in the kitchen. He took precautionary steps towards the kitchen and when he opened the door to the kitchen, he was taken aback with the large mess that was in there.

Wiping her forehead with her forearm, "Natsume!" she exclaimed, "You're awake!"

"Yeah I am…" while looking around the kitchen that was filled with pots and pans semi-filled with content inside, "What are you doing?" he asked apprehensively.

"I wanted to eat chicken Alfredo but the sauce is not just right, and it's making me mad; so I kept on re-doing it, hence the multitude of pots." She said with a pout.

He snickered at her expression. "What are you laughing about?" she demanded, "This is hard work, you know."

Walking over to her, he took a pot that she hadn't used, "Where's the recipe?" he asked. "You know how to cook Chicken Alfredo?" she asked curiously.

"Nope, but I figured I'll still do a better job than you." He said with a smirk. Mikan narrowed her eyes, but nevertheless gave him the recipe and ingredients. In a mere hour and a half, the Chicken Alfredo was finished and met Mikan's taste requirements.

"You know how to cook!"

"Beginner's luck." He replied offhandedly. "Let's eat."

When they finished eating, which took a while since Mikan kept on pausing to gush over how good it tasted, a comfortable silence fell upon them until Natsume began talking, "It's been a while since I had a homemade meal like this."

"I have these once in a while, but I usually eat alone, unless some friends are over." Mikan said, "You don't eat with your family?"

"My family died." Natsume said bluntly.

There was a prolonged silence between them, "I'm sorry to hear that." Mikan said solemnly. Natsume dismissed her apology with a wave of a hand, "Don't worry about it." He said lightly.

Mikan smiled weakly before saying, "This might sound a bit out of line, but it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one who has lost their family. All of my friends kept on trying to comfort me before but it just seemed so _fake_ because they didn't know how it really felt." She finished.

Natsume nodded, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

The night went on as the two of them began to bond even more. They talked about countless things, the good and the bad that have happened in their lives. As Mikan continued to share her life with him, he realized that their worlds aren't as different as he thought, but rather that they might just be similar in their own way.


	7. Coming home

There was blood everywhere- on the walls, on the floor, the amount was endless. It was if the blood was following her wherever she went. She ran around desperately trying to find a way out until she stumbled upon a door. When she opened it frantically, she saw someone standing with his back covered in blood faced towards her. The person turned around slowly and Mikan screamed in horror.

"Why are you screaming? It's only me." The person said with a sickly smile, he said slowly while advancing towards her with a long katana in his hand.

"Stay away…" Mikan stuttered, while taking a few steps back.

"I can't do that, Mikan. It's your turn next." Natsume whispered.

* * *

Mikan awoke with a startle. "Natsume?" she asked aloud, "Where are you?"

She saw no sight of Natsume but only a note on the dinner table where she must have dozed off on.

In a messy scrawl,

"_Thanks for letting me stay, but I had to go and you looked like you were sleeping peacefully so I didn't want to wake you up. See you._

_-N."_

She rubbed her temples after reading the note, "Sleeping peacefully…" she murmured, "That dream was horrible…" she shuddered. Suddenly the phone rang which made Mikan jump in her seat.

"Hello?"

"_Good, you're awake."_

"Of course I'm-". Mikan stopped midsentence to look at the caller ID.

"Oh my God, HOTARU."

"_I guess it was a good idea to put my volume the lowest it could be before I called you." She replied. _

"Why are you calling?" she giggled.

"_It's the 15__th__ today or did you forget?" _

"15th…?" Mikan paused, she racked her brain for something and when she realized it, she gasped. "You're coming back today!"

"_And?"_

"…And I was supposed to bring you back from the airport today! Oh my God. What time was your flight again?" Mikan exclaimed while clamoring out of her seat to get to her closet to start changing.

"_Don't bother."_

Mikan had her phone pressed between her shoulder and ear while changing into new jeans, "What do you mean?"

"_I meant, don't bother because I already arrived and I am sitting in your office at the moment."_

She stopped rummaging her closet for a fresh shirt, "My office? How'd you get there?" she asked questionably.

"_I had a back-up plan."_ Hotaru calmly stated. "That was me!" Ruka piped.

Mikan laughed, "Sorry Ruka. I'll be there soon, Hotaru. Give me 20 minutes okay?"

"_I'll see you in exactly 20."_ Hotaru finished with a click on the phone.

* * *

Mikan opened the door to the building and speed walked to her department. The faster she walked, the sooner she could see Hotaru, her best friend since childhood. They were so different, Mikan being the louder and social one, whereas Hotaru was the calm and reserved one. Despite their differences, they got along fine.

She opened her door in a grandeur gesture and saw Hotaru sitting in her chair with crossed legs; her heels were tapping lightly on the marbled floor of Mikan's office.

"You're late."

"There was traffic." Mikan said indifferently before dropping her bags and ran to Hotaru to embrace her.

Hotaru wasn't much of a hugger; the only person she allowed herself to be hugged was herself and Mikan. She rubbed Mikan's back lightly before pulling back.

Mikan smiled brightly, "I missed you so much!"

"The feeling was mutual." Hotaru smiled.

"How long are you staying? Please don't tell me it's just for a day." She asked worriedly.

"Don't worry," Hotaru reassured, "My work overseas is done. I don't have to travel that far of a distance for long periods anymore."

"Yay!" Mikan exclaimed.

"I hope you have a space for me in your house." Hotaru said while raising a brow.

"Of course, my home is your home, always." Mikan confirmed.

* * *

"Eric, another person had made contact with that Sakura girl."

"Who is she?"

"Hotaru Imai. Sources tell me that she is Sakura's best friend."

"I see…" Eric mused.

"Is there anything you would like me to do?"

"No, just be on standby and watch for anything that could become potential danger to us."

"Yes, sir." The girl bowed and took her leave.


	8. Combined Efforts

Several days have passed since Mikan saw Natsume but she didn't let it bother her that much. Her life went on as usual; she spent ample time with Hotaru, and making up for those lost months when Hotaru was gone. If she wasn't spending her time with Hotaru, she was trying to find more information on the Blood.

She was sitting in her office, her brows furrowing as she thought about the organization.

"I've known you for nearly my whole life, but I have never seen you so focused." Hotaru stated, while walking in.

Mikan made a face at Hotaru. "I can be very focused, just so you know."

Taking the empty seat beside Mikan, "What are you working on?" Hotaru asked, "The Blood thing again?"

Mikan nodded. "You've been at this for nearly a year now," Hotaru shook her head, "Are they really that exclusive that you can't find out who's in it and where they are?"

"It's not easy as making business deals, Hotaru. You can't just find anything easily."

"Touché," Hotaru agreed, "Let me help you then, what are you trying to find?"

"I have no idea actually…" Mikan admitted, "There's just so many empty pieces that I don't know where to start. The only thing I know is that every member's motive is that they have a personal vendetta. I don't even know how the members can be admitted nor do I do know how many members there are, NOR who their leader is, _if _they even have a leader-"

"Whoa, calm down, Mikan." Hotaru intervened, "you sound like you were going to explode there." She said laughing. "Okay, let's see… you know their motive, right?"She asked.

Mikan nodded as Hotaru took an empty paper and spare pen. "What's their motive?"

"To get revenge on whoever have killed their family or loved ones."

Hotaru scribbled that down. "Anything else?"

Mikan wondered, "There's an initiation before they are fully accepted as a member."

"An initiation?"

"It's like something to prove that they are in for the full deal, they're usually given a task and they have to complete it. In several cases before, the initiation is when they take revenge on who they had a vendetta for."

"I see…" Hotaru mused, as she wrote that down, "Anything else?"

"Nope. You would think that the people before me could have been able to investigate more thoroughly and find additional information though." Mikan sighed.

"All great things take time, Mikan. I'm sure there will be a breakthrough sooner or later." Hotaru said reassuringly.

"I hope so."

Throughout their whole conversation, neither of them noticed the stranger lingering outside the hallway.

* * *

Eric walked down the dark alley in the middle of the night, looking for someone, with only the moon as his source of light, when suddenly a hand tapped on his shoulder.

Eric spun around quickly on his heel to grasp that hand.

"That's not what gentlemen are supposed to do, Eric." The stranger said with a silvery tone.

Eric looked pleased, "Always a pleasure, Layla." He said, as he bought her hand to his lips to tenderly kiss it.

In anyone's eye, Layla was a doll. She had porcelain skin, large, clear blue eyes, with long, wavy blonde hair framing her face. However, what not a lot of people knew was her latent lust for tormenting people.

"What did you call me out for, Eric? I don't think you intended to talk about your day."

"You were always the keen one, Layla." Eric chuckled, "I need a favor."

"It depends what the favor is." She asked curiously.

"Befriend Mikan Sakura."

Layla crinkled her nose in disgust. "That bitch?" she scoffed, "Why would I want to do that? You have many people working under you, have them do it."

"Let me continue," Eric gently pressed on, "You're right, I do have many people working under me but none of them are like you. You're able to fool people into thinking that you are their friend. And I need someone like that to break Mikan Sakura."

"I don't get why you are so insistent on destroying Mikan this way. If I were you, I would just kill her." She said indifferently.

Eric shook his head, "I can't do that, and I want her to suffer. I want her to lose that bright radiance that she has around her. Then in due time, I will reveal myself to her." He paused, "So, will you join me in my plan?"

"I'll join you anytime, anywhere, Eric. You are my life." She said before pressing her lips against his.

* * *

The following morning was banal, the same routine for Mikan until she got to the office and saw Hotaru sleeping in her chair.

"Hotaru?" Mikan asked worriedly, "Why are you sleeping here?"

"Oh, I must have dozed off…" she said groggily while slowly rubbing her eyes.

Mikan looked down at the desk and saw papers sprawled around everywhere. On a piece of paper were Hotaru's scribbles with lines linking everything to each other.

"What's all this, Hotaru?"

"They're all possible occurrences that led to the development of the Blood. I looked through all the files and saw that the earliest date was sometime in 1996, so I researched all the events that happened in 1996. But I noticed a pattern, several years after that there were crimes always on the first week of the month. Also, I think that they choose their members by the social media."

"Social media?" Mikan inquired, "What do you mean?"

"If you looked at the past cases, all of them included people who were on the news because their family was included in a major killing or something."

"So then…" Mikan said slowly, "The Blood only chooses people that were affiliated in major events and then they reach out to them?"

Hotaru nodded, "That's what I think."

"Hotaru, you're a genius!" Mikan squealed, "I have to tell Tsubasa and Ruka now!"

"No, Mikan. Wait."

"Huh?"

"I think you should keep this information between us for now." Hotaru said slowly.

"Why?"

"I thought about what you said- about how this investigation has been going on for so long, but no one found any breakthroughs. And then, what I just told you shouldn't have been too hard to figure out especially with the keen minds in this department."

"What are you trying to say, Hotaru?"

"I think there may be someone in the Blood in this department."

"What?!" Mikan exclaimed, "That's impossible-"

"Think about it. There has to be someone in here that's been in this department for a long time so that they could stop any breakthroughs about the Blood."

Mikan stayed silent for a while, "That makes sense… But who would it be…"

"Who's been here the longest?"

"I'm not really sure…"

"Are there some type of documents that records everyone in the department, or like some type of yearbook?"

"I think so." Mikan said wonderingly.

"We should try to find it then." Hotaru said with a determined voice.

"You're the best, Hotaru. I could never have figured this out…" Mikan stated, shaking her head while laughing.

"I'm pretty sure you could, it's just two heads are better than one; that's all." Hotaru replied with a smile.

* * *

Both Hotaru and Mikan agreed on going home after their breakthrough. After getting off the bus, they saw that the sidewalk was flooded with people.

"Wow, there are so many people." Mikan stated, while trying to push her way through the crowd.

Hotaru crinkled her nose in disgust, "I know. I can feel the people pressing on me."

Mikan turned her head to talk animatedly to Hotaru while walking until she felt someone's body bumped onto her own.

"Oomph." Mikan exclaimed. She then looked up and saw who she bumped into. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she gushed worriedly.

The person smiled gently, "I'm okay, don't worry about it."

Mikan smiled back, "That's good to hear." She said before walking away.

"Did you see her, Hotaru? She was so pretty!" Mikan said.

The person watched Mikan's back as she walked away.

_"I can't wait to destroy you."_

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to those that reviewed the story so far :) Also, if there are any questions regarding this chapter, feel free to ask! I tried my best to make it not as confusing, haha. **


	9. Putting the Pieces Together

Mikan was laughing with Hotaru as they were coming closer to her home. "You should have been there, Hotaru. It was-"

"There's someone sitting on the steps" Hotaru interrupted suddenly.

"What?" she squinted, "Who is it?"

On hearing voices coming closer to him, he looked up and saw Mikan squinting at him. He lifted his hand up to wave at her, "Hi." He called out.

"Natsume!" she cried out. "C'mon Hotaru" she gestured before taking off to Natsume's location.

Mikan stopped herself short before she collided into Natsume, "How are you?" she asked, in between breaths.

"Never better." He replied. He flicked his gaze back to the girl taking defined steps. "Who's she?"

Mikan smiled with pride as she waited for Hotaru to arrive to where they were at, "She's my best friend: Hotaru Imai."

"Now that you know who I am… Who are you?" Hotaru asked cooly as she stood next to Mikan.

Natsume opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Mikan, "He's Natsume! He saved me before I was about to get killed!"

Silence.

The calm and collected Hotaru was a thing of the past as she took a breath and shouted, "I WAS GONE FOR 3 MONTHS AND YOU MANAGED TO GET YOURSELF ALMOST KILLED?!"

Mikan fumbled to get the keys out of her purse, "_Almost_ is the key word, Hotaru." The door opened as Mikan strode in, followed by a very angry spluttering Hotaru leaving Natsume alone outside.

Natsume stared into the house dumbfounded while contemplating if he should follow them inside or just leave. He decided on the latter, but just before he was about to turn his step,

"Why are you still outside?" Hotaru asked.

"Uh… I was-"

Hotaru massaged the bridge of her nose and sighed, "I actually wasn't looking for an explanation" she said, "Come in"

Unable to leave now, Natsume stepped inside the house, "Follow me." Hotaru commanded as she walked past him.

Natsume followed her as he made his way into a familiar living room that he was in just a couple days ago.

Hotaru sat down on the couch and crossed her legs before taking a sip out of the cup of water on the table.

"Sit." She directed Natsume.

Natsume was a person that never liked doing what other people told him too but in this case, he found himself obeying every single order that Hotaru gave him as he promptly sat down. The atmosphere around them was awkward and stiff since only silence ensued.

He looked around for Mikan but saw no sight of her.

"She's changing into a different set of clothes." Hotaru stated, as if reading Natsume's mind.

He nodded slowly, not knowing what to say. He looked around the room and concentrated on the wall as if it was the most important thing in the world. Why did he come in again? He didn't even know anymore.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, he averted his gaze from the wall to match with Hotaru, who has been studying him for a while now.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He smirked.

It was only supposed to be a joke, he didn't really expect her to take a camera out and take a picture with flash and everything.

"What the _hell_?" Natsume demanded, while rubbing his eyes that were blinded by the flash.

"You're not that bad looking. I'm sure there will be girls out there that would want a picture of you. And that means they'll buy it from me." Sighing, "I love money."

Natsume's jaw dropped, "You are one freaky woman." He snapped, "Fuck this, I'm leaving."

Standing up and just when he was about to turn around, he bumped smack into Mikan.

"Already leaving, Natsume?" she pouted.

"No," he said immediately when he saw her face, after realizing he said it too quickly, "I mean, maybe…depends."

Mikan clapped her hand and grinned, "You should stay! I was about to make lunch."

Hotaru snorted, "You? Cooking? We should just order take-out."

"As a matter of fact, Hotaru, I am very capable of cooking." she stated as she walked over to take the phone away from her hand.

Hotaru shrugged, looking at Natsume, "Brace yourself."

"Natsume can help me!"

"He cooks?" she asked dubiously.

Mikan nodded eagerly, "He's great at cooking, and he helped me make chicken Alfredo the other day."

"Beginner's luck." Natsume said nonchalantly while trying to hide the embarrassment.

* * *

"What did you want to make today?" Natsume asked once they were in the kitchen.

"Something simple, maybe just a sandwich or something."

Natsume nodded. The both of them worked in comfortable silence after Mikan assembled the items together.

Minutes passed as they continued working. Mikan looked up and saw Natsume diligently working on his sandwich. At the same time, Natsume raised his head.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked jokingly.

Mikan shook her head, "No reason."

Natsume stared at her, "You know," he said finally, "Your friend was also staring at me earlier and I told her to take a picture because it lasts longer and she actually took a picture, saying it would bring her money or something."

Mikan burst out laughing and Natsume smiled, it was nice to see her laughing, to be able to hear that genuine happiness coming from her.

Natsume walked towards her and wiped a tear from her eyes, "It wasn't that funny for you to start crying from laughter." He smirked.

She flashed a sudden smile, leaving Natsume breathless. "It was pretty funny, Hotaru loves money, and it's amusing to see how she gets her money."

Unable to stop himself, he inched closer and closer to Mikan. For some reason, he wanted to see Mikan's smile again. He stopped inching towards her as soon as he felt her breath on his chest. If Mikan was taken aback from him suddenly invading her personal space, she didn't show it.

"Where were you the past couple days, Natsume? She asked softly while staring into his dark, crimson orbs.

"Out and about."

Mikan sighed, "You said that you'll be able to find me whenever you want to, but what if I wanted to find you?"

He raised a brow, "You were looking for me?" he smirked.

Furrowing her eyebrows, "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" he asked huskily, leaning his head towards hers.

He was leaning closer and closer to her lips. Mikan took a breath, "I meant I don't even know anything about you."

Natsume stopped short from her lips. He had to get away from her. He pushed himself away from her.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Sorry, I don't know-"

"It's okay." She said quietly.

"You don't want to know about me, Mikan"

"Why not?" she challenged, "What's so bad about you?"

_I killed your parents._

"A lot of things are bad about me." He shook his head, "There are demons inside my head haunting me of my past."

She surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck, enveloping him into a hug. "You saved my life, if you don't think that's a good thing, then something is wrong with you."

He tried to gently push her away but she just tightened her grip around his neck, "Listen Natsume," she continued, "I don't know what happened in your past but… I want to be able to help you get rid of your demons."

"… Thanks." He whispered.

_Would you still say the same after you know what I did?_

* * *

"What took you guys so long?" Hotaru asked suspiciously.

Natsume and Mikan shared a look and Mikan laughed, "All great things take time, Hotaru."

She merely rolled her eyes, "Whatever, let's eat.

Without Mikan noticing, the day quickly left.

Day turned to days, days turned to weeks, weeks turning to months.

Natsume continually came over to her home, day after day. Sometimes they spent their days with Hotaru, sometimes not. As the days went by, Natsume opened a small part of himself to her. He released his innermost demons to her. He was a puzzle to her, an incomplete one. A puzzle always needs someone to finish it, and she put together all of the incomplete pieces.

He thought that Mikan would run away, thinking that he was a demon.

But she stayed. She always stayed.

One night they were in her living room with the lights out. They were in a sitting position with Natsume's arms wrapped around her and his legs surrounding her petite body. He buried his face into her shoulder as he held her. All he could think of was that he needed her, his personal angel in his life.

"Mikan?" he whispered.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

She turned her neck so that she could face him, "Thank you for what?" she asked puzzledly.

"For everything."

She felt herself inwardly smile, "It'd be nice if we could stay like this."

Natsume's lips nuzzled against her neck, "Then let's stay like this."

* * *

It's too bad that all good things come to an end.


	10. Notice: Only read if you read ch 9

Hi guys,

To all that read Chapter 9: Putting the Pieces Together, I just wanted to clarify something.

When I mentioned that Natsume told Mikan about his innermost demons, I didn't mean that he told her that he was in the Blood nor did he tell her that he was the one that killed her parents.

By innermost demons, I meant the more general things. He went into depth about how his whole family was killed and how he has no one left anymore.

It's kind of boring once you think about it, haha.

Sorry for any misunderstandings!


	11. Calm Before the Storm

**Two months later, December 1****st**

Ruka and Tsubasa were sitting inside Tsubasa's office. Ruka took a breath against the window glass as it fogged up slightly, showing how cold it was outside. The snow was an indication of the season change from fall to winter in Tokyo. Snowflakes glided down gracefully from the sky as if they were playing with the wind.

"Ruka, do you know why Mikan called us?" Tsubasa started, "I mean, it is so cold today I wasn't even planning on coming in."

Ruka chuckled, "Knowing Mikan, I don't think she would've come in either unless it was something important."

The door suddenly flung open with the appearance of a very flustered Mikan carrying a tray of drinks following a calm Hotaru.

"Speak of the Devil…" Tsubasa snorted.

Mikan plopped the sloshing cups of coffee on the table, "Black coffee with some sugar for the both of you just as you like it."

"Finally some warmth!" Tsubasa enthusiastically exclaimed as he dove for a cup.

Ruka flashed a smile towards Mikan as he took a cup, "Thanks."

"No problem." Mikan replied, smiling in return.

"Now that we are all comfortable and warm," Tsubasa started, earning an eye roll from Ruka, "What did you call us here for?"

Mikan sat down and motioned for the others to sit as well.

"Hotaru and I have come up with a hypothesis."

Tsubasa opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Hotaru's hand, "Don't talk." Which lead to Ruka's snickering and Tsubasa's grumbling.

"As Mikan was saying," Hotaru continued, "We came up with a hypothesis of how the Blood functions…"

The next hour was a long one filled with lots of questions and little answers, but at least there were answers.

"None of you can disclose this information." Hotaru directed.

Ruka and Tsubasa nodded their head in unison.

"You said that we can only get the Blood's attention by public media, right?" Ruka asked.

Mikan nodded, "Where are you going with this?"

"Why don't we infiltrate the Blood then?" Ruka asked slowly.

"What?! How?" Mikan asked intrigued.

"If they choose their members by public media, maybe we can manipulate the media so that it shows that one of us did it and then-"

"No way." Mikan said firmly after catching on, "None of us is going to infiltrate it like that. For starters, it's _way _too risky-"

"Mikan," Hotaru said gently, "Ruka has a point. It might work." She said slowly.

Mikan turned to Tsubasa, "What do you think? Please agree with me." She pleaded.

He took a final sip out of his coffee and shook the cup around for a bit.

"I think what Ruka said could be a possible thing to do." He said finally.

Mikan narrowed her eyes, "Okay. Let's say it does work. Let's say that we successfully infiltrate the Blood and we're able to find out the information that we need to bring it down for good. What if they figure out what we're doing?" She took a breath, "What if one of us gets hurts, or even worse…?" she added quietly.

"Then we'd just have to extra careful to not get caught." Ruka said simply.

She sighed.

"Look Mikan, we all want to bring down the Blood. For years, no one was able to touch them. Now here we are, with a possible breakthrough. All we just need is to take a little risk and a whole lot of luck to get by." Ruka said.

Hotaru and Tsubasa started to say something at the same time, "Stop. Me first." Hotaru commanded which led to more grumbling from Tsubasa.

"He's right, Mikan. I think this could be a possible way to bring them down for good." Hotaru said.

Mikan slammed her hands down on the table and stood up aggressively, "That's not the point! Yes, I agree that it could work. But what if it doesn't?!"

Ruka stood up and stared at her eye to eye. "You're being very unprofessional about this. You should never let your personal feelings get in the way of work." He said coolly.

She blinked several times, "Well… I'm sorry that I'm so unprofessional. I'm sorry for caring." She said quietly before exiting the room swiftly.

"You shouldn't have said that, Ruka." Hotaru chided, "You know why she's so sensitive about this."

He sat back down while slamming his fist on the table, "Fuck… I know." He sighed in frustration, "She was just being so unreasonable, I just… I don't know."

* * *

Mikan ran out of the department with tears brimming from her eyes.

Death.

Death.

Death.

Those were the only things on her mind as she continued out. She hated death, she hated killing. Granted she might have killed several bugs if they made themselves comfortable in her home, but death of her friends, her closest friends that she loved with all of her heart? She couldn't take that. Never in a million years.

She pushed opened the doors and she felt the cold burst of air hit her cheeks. It was so cold that Mikan felt as if the tears on her cheek were being frozen. In a sea of white from the snow, there was someone in black sitting down on the bench in front of her. In that moment, the person turned and locked eyes with her.

Crimson met hazel.

The crimson eyes which were full of cheer suddenly turned to worrisome eyes. In a flash, he was already next to Mikan, wiping her tears fervently away.

He didn't know what to do or what to say. He knew she hated when people tried to console her by saying that 'everything's going to be okay'. All he could do was wrap his arms around her shaking body as if trying to protect her from the world. He placed his chin over head and smoothed her hair to get rid of the snowflakes that settled briefly, "C'mon. Let's go somewhere warm." He muttered softly.

She said nothing in reply, only nodding into his body. He slung his arm around her protectively as they turned their backs from the building.

Neither of them noticed Ruka watching above them from the window. He frowned on seeing Mikan being enveloped in somebody else's arms.

_Who was that person?_

"Ruka?" Hotaru called out.

He swiveled his chair back towards the table, "Yeah?"

"Do you think we should continue with the plan…I mean, Mikan gave such a negative response to it…" She drifted off.

He nodded, "It should continue. This is our only opportunity."

She slowly nodded. "Very well. Then I'd have to say this, not all of us can infiltrate the Blood. Only one of us can."

"Duh." Piped Tsubasa.

Hotaru turned her head slowly to face Tsubasa, "I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked calmly.

He gulped, "No, nothing at all."

"Thought so." Hotaru said smugly, "Anyways, only one person. It would be too suspicious if all three of us were to join, _if_ we're even able to join."

"Who would it be?..." Ruka asked thoughtfully.

"I, for one, think that we should rule out Tsubasa because he is a complete dumbass and will destroy our plans nonetheless." Hotaru stated.

Tsubasa nodded as if agreeing with this, "It's true, and I'm a complete dumbass. I don't do well in covert operations."

Ruka stared at Hotaru, "Looks like it's between us." He said.

Hotaru nodded.

"I think-", they both began at the same time.

Hotaru urged Ruka to go first, "I think I should be the one to do it. I mean, I'm pretty good at acting and I get along pretty well with everyone, I might even get along fine with assassins." He said jokingly.

She sighed, "You shouldn't joke about these things, Nogi."

"Should we tell Mikan about this?" Tsubasa asked.

"No." Ruka said immediately, "At least, not now."

"That's a bad idea." Hotaru warned.

"But, ignorance is bliss." Ruka replied easily, "She was so against this in the first place, what makes you think she'll readily agree to it after we tell her what we're going to do?"

"So you want her to find out on her own?"

"Yes." Ruka confirmed.

It was like the calm before the storm. Nothing works out as is planned, especially in this case.

* * *

Natsume and Mikan walked hand in hand to the location where Natsume planned to take them. Even though one of her hands were out in the cold, her hand didn't feel cold at all, maybe because she felt his warm, large hands protecting her small ones.

Despite the negative feelings she felt earlier, she felt a warm and tingly feeling inside as she smiled a small involuntary smile. Natsume was always there for there, no matter where she was. Right when she needed someone, there he was; her own personal guardian angel.

Just a few weeks ago, Mikan was cleaning out her closet which was filled with boxes. There was a sudden rumble from the shelf above. She looked up and saw a box tipping, about to make its way down towards Mikan's head. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for the impact. A few seconds past and she felt no impact. Puzzled, she opened her eyes and looked up. A pair of arms was holding the box a few inches above her head.

"_You know, when a box is coming towards you, you're supposed to dodge it. Not just stand there idly." Natsume smirked. _

_Mikan shrugged, "It's a habit."_

_He placed the box on the floor, "Well, as long as I'm here, I'll catch all the boxes that fall your way." He leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly. _

_Mikan giggled, "You're wonderful."_

_His lips formed into a smile against her forehead. _

"We're here." Natsume said, breaking her out of her memory, "You remember this place, right?"

She nodded and smiled, "You took me here the second time I saw you!"

"I'm surprised you remember, considering your memory is about the size of a peanut." He smirked.

Mikan pouted, "My memory isn't that bad!"

He chuckled, taking her hand again, "Let's go in."

The door chimed open, "Narumi!" He called out once he saw him behind the counter.

But today, Narumi was different. He didn't do his normal antics, he just stayed where he was and kept a blank face.

Natsume frowned, "What's-"

A low whistle from the right side of the room cut him off.

"Looks like the rumors are true. You're spending your days with a gal. She really got her looks from her parents, didn't she?"

Natsume turned and his body stiffened. He stood in front of Mikan protectively and she felt his grip on her hand tightened.

"Natsume?" she asked quietly. Only to receive a small shake from his head, telling her that this wasn't the time to talk.

"What are you doing here, Roy?" he asked steely.

Roy leaned back on his chair with ease. "I just wanted some ramen." He said indifferently, "And to see my favorite person, you." He added.

"I'm not going back with you today."

"Oh no, I think you misunderstood. I didn't come here today to take you back, Eric just told me to see how you were doing." Roy looked at Mikan who was behind Natsume, "But…I don't think he'd mind if I took back the lovely girl behind you." He craftily said.

"Fuck you." Natsume said vehemently, "She's not going anywhere."

Roy sighed, "Such a touchy person, I was only kidding. It's not time yet."

Natsume narrowed his eyes as Roy continued, "But… Eric said it would be nice if you came back today. He said he has something to show you."

Natsume stayed where he was at until Roy added, "I mean, unless you don't want anything to happen today…" he drifted off. "Then, I highly suggest that you come with me."

He scooted his chair back and stood up, "There's a car waiting outside, I'll give you 5 minutes to decide. I'm feeling a bit generous today." He said before walking out.

Just before he pushed upon the door, he turned on his heel to face the couple, and tipped an invisible hat, "Always a pleasure, _Ms. Mikan Sakura."_

The room was suddenly engulfed in cold air as Roy walked off into the car.

"Natsume?" Mikan asked worriedly, "Who was he? How did he know my name?"

He forced himself to smile slightly, "He's just someone that I know. Look, I forgot that I had something to do so I have to go do it now, okay?"

She nodded, "Of course."

He couldn't help but pull her body towards him as he gave her a tight embrace. He let out a sigh of relief as he burrowed his face into her neck. Even though she was surprised and confused, she slowly wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him back. Their bodies fit perfectly against each other, together they were like fitting pieces in a puzzle. Because of this, he felt all of his worries being vanquished away.

All because he was in her embrace.

But, all good things come to end as he slowly detangled himself from her. "I have to go now." He said gruffly, "Stay with Narumi, okay? And if you want to go home, have him go with you." He leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. "I'll see you later."

Mikan nodded numbly, she didn't understand what was going on but she knew that something was bothering Natsume greatly.

"Are you going to come back later?"

"Do you want me too?" he replied.

Mikan nodded, "Then I'll be there." He smirked.

She smiled as she watched him advance towards the door and walked out into the sea of white as he approached the black car. He looked back towards the restaurant and gave a small wave to her before he stepped into the car.

The car door closed and the car sped off.

She turned around and finally noticed that Narumi was still behind the counter, looking pale.

"Narumi?" she asked uncertainly, "Are you okay?"

He gave a weak smile and nodded, "Yes… of course. I just hate to see Natsume in that position, I always have."

"What do you mean?"

He widened his eyes when he realized what he said. "Nothing, Natsume's not in trouble." He said quickly.

"What do you mean he's not in trouble?" Mikan asked, clearly perplexed now.

He mentally kicked himself; he was always bad under pressure.

"What aren't you telling me?" she pressed on, "I always feel that Natsume was hiding something from me. But no matter how much I prod him, he always manages to change the subject."

He shut his eyes and thought about it for a moment.

_Should I tell her? What if Natsume finds out that I told her? What if she already knows? Will everything still be the same?_

"Narumi?"

"Follow me upstairs, Mikan." He said while walking up on the stairs behind them.

She was confused, but followed him nonetheless.

They ended up in a room with only a bed, a desk and chair, and a closet in it.

"This room is so empty… It's like no one's living in it." Mikan said softly.

He nodded, "This is Natsume's room. He's been staying here since he was 16. He's 22 now."

"6 years…" Mikan muttered.

"Mikan… I'm going to tell you something about Natsume now, but you have to promise me that you will be open minded about this."

She opened her mouth to say something, "No Mikan, listen to me first. Please hear the whole story before you decide about what you think about Natsume." Narumi said gravely.

Mikan nodded slowly and took the seat next to him, "I'll listen to what you say first, I promise."

_Let her be the girl that won't leave Natsume, Narumi thought. _

"Natsume…" Narumi started, "He's in the Blood."


	12. Let the Games Begin

Mikan stayed quiet but it was evident that the news bought a strain to her, "Carry on…" she croaked.

Narumi nodded, "_She's acting calm so far. That's good." He thought._

"Back when he was 15, he lost his dad, his last close relative. His sister and mother-"

"-Died in a car crash." Mikan completed, "He told me."

He nodded again, "So after his father died, he sought revenge on the person that issued the death sentence on his father."

"And who was that person?"

"I don't know, he never told me."

"Why did his father receive a death sentence?" Mikan asked.

"His father was in the Blood, as well."

"This whole Blood thing is ridiculous…" she muttered, "Getting revenge…" she shook her head.

"You have to understand it from his point of view, he already lost his mother and sister and then he lost his father. Wouldn't you want to avenge your loved ones?" Narumi pleaded.

"Of course I would," Mikan simply replied, "I'm not saying I don't understand. I mean, I, too, wanted to find the person the murdered my parents."

"And what would you do if you found that person?"

"… I don't know yet." She admitted.

"But you understand Natsume's reason, don't you?" Narumi asked hopefully, "I'm sure you can tell that he regrets everything he did and that he's not a horrible person. To be frank, I think that he hates himself every single day, Mikan."

"_But what if they don't deserve to live?" Natsume murmured with his head lowered._

"_Everyone deserves to live."Mikan said simply._

"I know, Natsume is still Natsume, no matter what." Mikan said softly.

* * *

Natsume took brisk steps into Eric's room which had dim lighting. But even with the dim lighting, he could see two silhouettes sitting on the chairs. Suddenly, the room illuminated with full lighting, allowing Natsume to take in his surroundings.

Eric rubbed his hands together and walked over to him, "How are you, Natsume?"

"Why am I here?" he asked bluntly, ignoring the original question.

Natsume then saw a lady dressed in a black mid-thigh body dress with a low cut neck line. "You're here because of me."

"Who are you?" Natsume asked suspiciously.

The lady smiled lightly, "I am Layla, I take it that you are Natsume?" she asked before extending her arm out to him.

He brushed off her arm and turned to Eric, "Why did you want me to meet her? She's nothing special."

"Nothing special?!" she repeated incredulously, "You insolent boy!" Layla fumed.

"Now, now, Layla. You must remember to calm down and not let his words get to you." Eric soothed.

Eric sighed, "I called you here to give you an option."

Natsume remained quiet.

"My sources tell me that you have been associating yourself with Mikan Sakura lately,-"

"What about her." Natsume growled.

"You can eliminate her yourself," Eric continued, "Or, Ms. Sakura will endure terrible hardships for a while."

"What are you talking about?"

"Six years ago, I told you to kill the whole family, but you let one of them live. What a coincidence those six years later, that you would meet that same girl. So now, I just want you to cut off those loose ends."

"Are you a fool? Do you think I would listen to you?!" Natsume shouted.

Eric smiled, "Of course not. Which is why I'm willing to give you an incentive. If you kill Mikan Sakura with your own hands, then you will no longer be involved with the Blood. Neither I, nor any of the current members will contact you ever again. You will never have to come back here again. This is your ticket to get out, Natsume. If I were you, I would take full advantage of it since you resent us so much." Eric said simply.

* * *

"And what about you, Narumi?" Mikan asked.

"What about me?"

"Are you in the Blood too?"

He shook his head, "Not anymore."

"Anymore?" she repeated, "That means you were once in it… were you able to get out?"

"In a way, yes." He replied hesitatingly.

"How? Maybe Natsume can get out too!" she said eagerly.

"No." Narumi said sharply, "To get a chance to get out…" he sighed, "It's a hefty price to pay. You have to be willing to lose everyone and everything you care about."

"What do you mean by losing everyone and everything?"

"… It means a lot of things, Mikan. I'm sure the leader of the Blood had already struck a deal with Natsume for his ticket out."

"Really?" Mikan asked excitedly, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"…It all depends on Natsume."

* * *

"And what if I don't?" Natsume asked.

Eric made a tsk noise, "Only fools would take that route." He sighed, "But if you don't do as I told you, Layla here, will be having some fun with Ms. Sakura, and you will still be in my hands."

Natsume narrowed his eyes, "Why do you have a vendetta for Mikan?"

He smiled, "We all have our secrets and reasons, Natsume."

.

Hotaru and Ruka were in their office.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Nogi? Once we release this to the public, there's no backing out for you…" Hotaru asked cautiously.

"Just do it." He said, "It's all or nothing after this."

"Very well." She said curtly.

She pressed several numbers into her phone, "It's me. You can now release the story." She said before tossing her phone aside.

"It feels kind of weird, doesn't it?" Ruka said, stretching his arms.

"Why?"

"For someone like me, who's going to turn from that likeable guy to a killer, according to the manipulated story." He smiled.

She sighed, "Ruka, I told you-"

"I know, I know. I didn't say I regretted it or anything, I'm just saying that it's weird." He said hurriedly.

Hotaru's phone suddenly beeped and she read the message, "Turn on the T.V, channel 7." she directed Ruka, "It's up."

"From our sources, we have identified the killer of the Shori family. Unexpectedly, we have found out that the killer is none other than, Ruka Nogi of the Research and Information department in Tokyo. The Tokyo police now have him in custody for the time being until further notice. This is Shika Yori from channel 7, back to you Saki."

Ruka let out a low whistle, "I'm in custody, huh?"

"Don't worry, you are not going to be spending any time in those cells, we just need to be inconspicuous regarding your movements." Hotaru reassured.

He nodded, "It's comforting to me knowing that you're doing all of the behind the scene stuff." He laughed.

"Well," she started, "I'm only doing it because the rest of you are idiots."

"Of course, I agree completely." Ruka responded with a straight face.

There was a sudden shouting's outside of the building and Ruka stood up to walk over to the window.

"Nogi, stop. Don't get near the window; actually stay as far as you can from the window."

She walked over to the window and looked down before closing the blinds and saw a mass amount of reporters and protesters outside the door while the security was struggling to keep them out.

"_Why did Ruka Nogi murder the family?"_

"_HE'S A KILLER."_

"_I want to talk to his boss!"_

"_LET US THROUGH."_

"Did you have any intentions of getting out of the building any time soon?" Hotaru asked.

"Not really…?" Ruka replied uncertainly.

"Good. Because there is no way out, there are reporters and angry protesters outside the door." She said simply.

He chucked sarcastically, "Well, this is going to be fun."

* * *

**A/N:** Hi guys! I just wanted to point out that Narumi was not lying to Mikan when he told her that he doesn't know which family Natsume killed for his initiation.

Thank you for reading!


	13. Just to Keep You Safe

It was nighttime once Mikan walked herself back home.

"_Are you sure you don't need me to walk with you?" Narumi asked worriedly._

"_I'll be fine," Mikan reassured, "I may not look like it, but I'm capable of self-defense."_

_Narumi tried his hardest to stifle a snort once he saw Mikan glaring at him._

"_All kidding aside, thank you for understanding what Natsume has been going through." Narumi began, "I know that your job is to bring down the Blood, and this might be selfish of me to ask, but if you can, can you not leave Natsume on his own?" he pleaded._

_**Get out your guns, battles begun,**__**  
Are you a saint, or a sinner?  
If loves a fight, than I shall die,**__**  
With my heart on a trigger.  
**_

_Mikan blinked several times. She was married to the law, that's what she swore when she took on this occupation. She knew the consequences of withholding valuable information to a case, especially a big case, like this one. She knew that she would have to face Natsume, one day, not as Mikan Sakura, but as Mikan Sakura of the Research and Information department in Tokyo. She knew that she had a duty to her job, to all of the people that the Blood has hurt, but she thought about the duty to herself. _

"_I can't just turn a blind eye towards this, Narumi." _

_The hope in Narumi's eyes was burst by Mikan's words like a balloon with a needle. _

_Narumi feigned a smile, "Of course, you're right. You have to do what you have to do."_

"… _but towards Natsume…, I can't turn a blind eye towards him either." Mikan saw how Narumi's expression changed. _

_**They say before you start a war,**__**  
You better know what you're fighting for.  
Well baby, you are all that I adore,**__**  
If love is what you need, a soldier I will be.**_

"_I don't know what to do yet, hell, I don't even know if this is going to be a good thing. But I won't abandon Natsume… I'll shoulder his burdens." Mikan concluded._

_Narumi didn't realize that he's been holding his breath until Mikan finished. _

_He exhaled. _

"_Mikan… thank you." He closed his eyes, "Thank you for making the decision of staying beside Natsume."_

She fumbled with the keys before opening the door. Right before she pushed the door open, a hand tapped on her shoulder, "Boo."

She jumped up and shrieked before turning around and came face to face with Natsume himself.

He had an amused expression on his face, "Did I scare you? Sorry about that."

Her face remained stoic while she studied him. Right now, he seemed like a normal person, a person without any burdens. She wondered how long he's been putting up façade. She wondered if Natsume ever had any intention of telling her his story.

"Mikan?" Natsume questioned, "Are you okay?"

"Let's go in first."

He wondered why she was acting weirdly, but followed her inside regardless.

"Did everything go okay today?" Mikan asked, "With your friend?"

Natsume tried his best not to show his anger as he recounted the events that unfolded today, "It was swell."

Mikan sat down on the couch, "Are you going to be meeting up with him soon? It scares me when you have to leave like that." She added.

He stared at her before walking over to sit beside her, "No, I won't be meeting up with him soon." He said as he gathered her small hand into his own.

She smiled despite the next question she was going to ask, "Are you in the Blood, Natsume?"

Natsume felt his heart beat quicken.

"What makes you ask that?" Natsume asked back quickly.

Mikan withdrew her hand from Natsume's, "It's a simple yes or no question, Natsume."

His eyes harden, "What makes you ask this?" he asked until he realized that Eric might have already acted, "Did anyone approach you earlier today?" he asked fervently.

She shook her head, "No one did. I just want you to answer my question." She answered softly.

"Mikan, I-… I'm sorry."

_**I'm an angel with a shotgun,**__**  
Fighting til' the wars won,**_

Mikan remained silent, "You could have told me." She said after what felt like forever.

"No." He shook his head. "I couldn't. I couldn't lose the one person who didn't see me as a killer, as a member of the Blood when they looked at me. I couldn't lose that."

_**I don't care if heaven won't take me back.**_

Mikan scooted closer to Natsume and gently forced Natsume to turn his face towards her, "Even though I know now… I still don't see you as a member of the Blood. To me, you're just Natsume." She said simply.

He shook his head and stared at his hands, "I killed people, with these two hands. And because I was weak and got involved with you, I'm beginning to endanger you, as well. I'm not longer _just _Natsume, I'm a monster."

"Then I'll do everything in my power to make you realize that you're _not _a monster."

_**I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.**_

Silence.

"You and I are two different people, from two different worlds, Mikan." He said finally. "The choices that I make will eventually affect you too. Sometimes I wish that I never entangled myself with you, but I can't go back in time. I can't go back in time and wish that I never saved you that night because…I would never want you to get hurt. And if I went back in time, then I would never have met you, and for me, that just might be the worst punishment possible for me."

_**Don't you know you're everything I have?**_

She made him face her once again as she leaned closer to him, allowing both of the foreheads to slightly touch.

"You saved me that night, so this time… let me save you."

_**... and I, wanna live, not just survive, tonight.**_

* * *

**A/N: **So very sorry for the late updates! I've been studying for finals and the SAT's so I'm a tad bit busy, but I still wanted to give you guys something, even though it's a short chapter :(

Also, the song does not belong to me; and to those that might be wondering, it's "Angel With a Shotgun" by The Cab.


	14. Equivalent Exchange

The sun was gradually making its way up as its sun rays scattered throughout the room.

Mikan woke up to a startle, but she didn't even remember falling asleep. All she knew was that Natsume's arms were around her when she woke up on the couch, next to him.

"Go back to sleep," he said, smoothing her hair.

She rubbed her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light. "You didn't sleep?"

"I did, I just tend to wake up early."

"When did I fall asleep?" Mikan asked.

"Late last night." He replied, "And then in your sleep, you were muttering how you would protect me from everything." He added with a smirk.

She shifted in his arm, turning her back towards him.

But as she turned around, he saw the embarrassed expression on her face which made him smile softly.

"Thank you for believing in me." He whispered against her neck.

"You're welcome." She said in return.

Her phone rang suddenly so Natsume unwrapped his arms around her so that she could move about.

"Hello?" Mikan answered.

"Mikan, you need to come into office now! There is so much havoc here and there's too few to hold off the people that are trying to get in!"

She knitted her eyebrows in worry when she heard yelling in the background, "Calm down, Anna. Why are there people trying to get in?"

"You didn't hear? Ruka was accused of murdering the Shori family. And this morning, there's more evidence that shows that he's responsible for the murdering of the Hatori girl. So there are news reporters and protestors outside." Anna hysterically said.

Mikan froze, but regained her composure.

"I'll be there soon." She said slowly.

"Hurry!" Anna demanded before hanging up.

Natsume saw the complex expression clouding Mikan's face.

He reached towards her but she stepped away.

"Mikan?" He asked, "What's wrong?"

She only shook her head in reply, "I need to go to the office." She said as she was already gathering her things.

"I'll go with you." He offered.

"No." she said a bit forcefully, "I mean," she backtracked, "It's okay. There's something I need to do alone, either way."

He nodded slowly, "Okay then."

She finished gathering her things, "I'll see you soon?" she asked.

"Of course." He replied.

* * *

When Mikan got to the office, she saw a horde of people in front of the building with Anna and other security guards trying to keep everyone out.

"_WE WANT ANSWERS."_

"_LET US SEE RUKA NOGI."_

She knew it'd be impossible to try to push through the crowd, so she went in through the back, a path where only few people had known about. Once she got in, she still saw Anna and the others struggling and decided whether or not she should help them, but decided otherwise. She had things she had to clear.

Mikan made her way up to Tsubasa's office. As she was approaching closer to the door, she was stopped by his secretary.

"Good morning, Ms. Sakura." Suzuki greeted as she stood up behind her desk, "Is there anything I may help you with?"

"There's nothing in particular, Suzuki. I was just going to talk to Tsubasa."

"I'm sorry to say that Mr. Andou is in a meeting with Ms. Imai at the moment. He has given me specific directions as to not let anyone in."

"They're both in there?" Mikan questioned aloud.

"Yes, they are." She responded with a confused look.

"Perfect timing. I can kill two birds with one stone." Mikan said.

"Pardon me?" Suzuki asked.

Before Suzuki could do anything, Mikan rushed the door opened.

She saw Tsubasa widen his eyes as Hotaru's body stiffened as she narrowed her eyes.

"Ms. Sakura! You cannot be in there." Suzuki cried after her.

Hotaru relaxed once she saw who barged into the office.

"I'm very sorry for my lack of attention, Mr. Andou. I didn't think that she would barge in." she apologized while bowing in a complete ninety degree angle, "Please leave this room, Ms. Sakura, or I will have to call security."

"It's okay, Suzuki. We were waiting for Mikan either way." Tsubasa reassured, "But if anyone is looking for me after this, just tell them I'm not here."

Suzuki nodded, "Very well then." She turned around and right before she closed the door, "No hard feelings about the calling security on you, Ms. Sakura." She added.

Mikan waved her hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it."

The door then closed with a click.

Without waiting a second, "Where is he?" Mikan demanded, "I know that he wouldn't be in the actual jail cell where people believe him to be."

"He's in one of my safe houses, under the highest protection." Hotaru calmly replied.

Mikan released a heavy sigh, "You guys didn't tell me that you were going to go through with this."

"Would your reaction have been any different if we did?" Tsubasa asked.

She remained quiet.

"It's not like we wanted to do this." Tsubasa continued, "But this is all we got. And we would be fools if we were to let this pass by."

"Then let us be fools."

"You don't get it, do you?" Hotaru snapped, "Ruka is doing this because he understands this is the only opportunity we may have in bringing down the Blood. We don't know anything about its members and if Ruka can get in then he can be a double agent for us."

"It's like equivalent exchange, Mikan. You can't get something if you don't give something." Tsubasa explained.

It seemed like everything paused for Mikan as she allowed Tsubasa's words to sink in.

"I want to see Ruka." Mikan said softly.

Tsubasa and Hotaru shared a look before Hotaru spoke.

"We'll take you to him."

* * *

Natsume stayed in the house for a bit after Mikan had left. He remained sitting on the couch as he let his thoughts drift back to yesterday night.

"_Are you in the Blood, Natsume?"_

Why would Mikan ask that out of the blue? He thought. If no one had approached her then… the only possible person that could have told her about it was…Narumi.

In an instant, anger flowed through Natsume. How dare he talk about these types of things without his consent?!

Natsume stormed out of the house as he quickly made his way to the ramen shop, where he knew Narumi would be at.

He aggressively pushed open the door which startled Narumi.

"Natsume!" Narumi said pleasantly, not noticing the anger in his eyes.

He took small steps towards Narumi before reaching for his shirt, "Why the hell did you tell Mikan about me being the Blood?" he spat, "That wasn't your information to give out."

Narumi smiled sympathetically, "I agree, it wasn't my information to just tell her. But I thought that she needed to know."

"She doesn't need to know anything!" he shouted, "Why are you making her involved in my affairs? She doesn't need this." He added.

"Maybe it's a better thing if she's involved in this, then maybe she can help you-"

"That's what I _don't _want. I don't _want_ her help; I don't _want_ her to be involved with this Blood affair. She's going to do everything she can to try to help me get out of this mess because that's who she is. She always worried after people without worrying for her own safety."

Natsume released his hold of Narumi.

"Did Eric offer you anything?" Narumi asked.

Natsume eyed him warily, "Yes."

"You… Don't tell me you're going to go through with it?" Narumi asked, alarmed.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Who do you think I am? I'm not like you, sacrificing Yuna-"

In an instant, Narumi's face was close up to Natsume, "You will never speak of Yuna. You will only taint her name." he said darkly.

"Okay." Natsume said evenly.

Narumi pushed Natsume away as he tried to regain his composure.

"I only did what I thought would be best for you, Natsume." Narumi started as he made his way to the back, "It's up to you whether you believe that."

* * *

**A/N: **I apologize for another slightly short chapter, but finals and SAT's are now over! :D Which means, I have more time to update and the whole shebang.

Ty to those who have been reading and reviewing.

-M


	15. Broken Promises

Narumi trekked upstairs to his room. Once he closed the door behind him, he stood in place with his hand still grasping the door knob. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes while he felt his legs give up on him as he slumped down to the floor.

Five years of total stoicism, five years of oblivion… five years of regret were now resurfacing from the bottom. He chuckled humorlessly to himself, "Damn Natsume just had to bring up Yuna…"

Before Narumi could stop himself, he was already standing up and reaching for the wooden box on the top of the shelf. The box was dusty and its color was slowly fading. It's been a while since Narumi had gotten a hold of this box. He didn't do this all the time, but there were some days where he just needed to.

He blew the dust off of the box and opened it slowly, hearing the creaking from the box, as if it didn't want to be opened either. There were only photos in the box.

Photos of only two people.

Photos of Narumi and Yuna.

Narumi decided to start from the bottom of the stack, and the first picture he saw was just a picture of him crying when he was toddler. To any other person, it might just seem as a normal picture, but to him it was so much more.

"_Narumi," Yuna said tiredly, "Please stop crying, everything will be okay."_

"_B-but… Mama and Papa are gone!" He spluttered before erupting into sobs again._

_Yuna sighed, "We need neither Mama nor Papa." She said, as she placed Narumi on her lap, "From now on, it's just you and me."_

_His sobbing quieted down, "Promise?" he asked._

"_I_ p_romise." The older sister returned earnestly with a smile._

This time, Narumi pulled a random picture out of the stack and came across a picture of both of them sitting side by side, but this time Narumi was older about fourteen years old, and gone was his lively and playful expression. It was now replaced with a cold demeanor. Even though Yuna was only 4 years older than him at the time, her face showed no signs of youth.

Narumi stared at the photo and remembered the conversation that took place after.

_"You look like a thug!" Yuna exclaimed, "Come on, let's do a re-take!"_

_"And you look like a hag," Narumi shot back, "Why do we even take pictures, they're useless."_

_Yuna merely smiled, "One of these days, you'll want to look back and these pictures will help you." She explained, "So come on, another picture!"_

_He rolled his eyes and got up, "No, I don't want to take a picture."_

_Yuna reached for his arm, "Narumi, stop being-"_

_Narumi shook her arm off, "Stop being so persistent, dammit!" he said between his clenched teeth before walking off leaving behind a baffled Yuna._

He walked out of the house while breathing in the summer night air. He half-expected Yuna to run after him, but it didn't bother him that much when only silence followed him. He had already walked several blocks down the street before deciding to come back to the house and offer up some half-assed apology to Yuna.

When he was in seeing distance of the house, he saw a man lingering the house. Narumi took tentative steps towards the house, only to be stopped by the man.

_"You must be Narumi?" the man questioned._

_"What's it to you?" Narumi answered back gruffly._

_The man chuckled softly, "My, I suppose your sister wasn't kidding when she said that you tend to bite your words towards others."_

_Narumi raised an eyebrow, "You know Yuna?"_

_"And your parents." The man added._

_"Who are you?!" Narumi demanded._

_"My name is Eric, how about we take a little walk?"_

By the time Narumi returned home, unbeknownst to himself, things were already changing for him and his daily life.

_"Where have you been?" Yuna demanded, "Do you know how worried I was? You can't just walk off for that long."_

_"Sorry, I won't do it again." Narumi muttered as he walked passed her._

Yuna blinked several times, she didn't expect that things would go as smoothly like that. She cleared her throat,_ "Well, if you won't do it again, then everything's okay, I guess."_

_"I'm going to bed now." _Narumi said before shutting the door.

He laid down on the bed, thinking about the conversation that happened earlier.

_"Your parents… were friends of mine." Eric began._

_"Where are they?" Narumi asked anxiously._

_"Six feet under the ground."_

_"Oh." Narumi said._

_"But before they died, they asked me for one favor, which was to take care of their two children." Eric explained, "Which I did, I supported Yuna financially anytime she was having trouble. But, I can't keep on doing this with no benefit towards myself, you know?"_

Narumi narrowed his eyes, _"What do you want?"_

_"I have this organization. Granted, it is in its baby stage at the moment, which is why I am trying to find… appropriate people that would be suitable to work under me. And if you agree to join my organization, I will ensure that Yuna and you will always be financially supported and safe, to a greater extent from where you are at the moment."_

_"What do I have to do in this organization?"_

_"Oh, just little tasks here and there."_

_Narumi contemplated his answer, "Alright. What's there to lose?"_

_Eric smiled, "I like the way you think. We'll be in touch."_ He said before taking off.

Narumi remembered everything that followed during the next couple months. He remembered the months of being in the Blood.

Those "little tasks" involved taking other people's lives while risking his own life in the process.

He was sixteen in the next picture. He was sixteen with dead, blank eyes with bruises over his body.

_"Why have you been getting hurt lately?"_ Yuna asked anxiously.

Narumi shrugged,_ "I just don't get along with people."_

_"Then stop going out at night."_ Yuna demanded,_ "…Stop making me worry about you."_ She added softly.

He smiled weakly,_ "Sorry, I have to go. I have no choice."_

"Go _where?_" Yuna asked, _"You are always so vague around me now. It's like; you're not even yourself these days!"_

_"…I don't think I am anymore."_ Narumi said plainly before walking out of the house, allowing the darkness to swallow him whole.

Narumi returned to the house next morning with a fresh set of bruises, the people that Eric wanted gone put up a good fight. When Narumi opened the door, he expected Yuna to be at the door, waiting to barrage him with more questions.

But he was greeted with absolute silence.

Yuna knew that going to Eric by herself was dangerous. But she also knew that she had to stop Narumi from doing whatever he was doing. She had a hard time finding his place, since the last time she was there was couple years ago. When she arrived at the entrance, there was a buff man standing in front of the entrance.

"Who are you?" the man demanded gruffly.

"I'm looking for Eric." Yuna calmly returned.

The man took out a knife and held it threateningly, "That doesn't answer my question, little lady."

"Derek," Eric said soothingly from behind him, "please put away the weapon, this is Narumi's sister, Yuna. She is not a threat."

"Sorry about that," Eric apologized, once they were in his room, "He's the guard of the area, so he has to be suspicious of everyone that comes."

She shook her head, "It's fine."

"So, what are you here for? I believe Narumi should be home already."

"I know everything that you've been making him do." Yuna suddenly said, "I know about the Blood, I know everything."

Eric simply smiled, "Narumi told you?"

"No, I found out on my own. Some nights, I follow him when he goes out. And when he sleeps, he talks about it in his sleep."

Eric nodded, "I'll repeat myself again, and so, what are you here for, Yuna?"

"I want Narumi out of the Blood."

There was a distinctive pause before Eric began guffawing.

"That was just so direct, I love that." Eric said before clearing his throat. "But, I'm sorry. I can't just give up Narumi. After all, he's a very valuable person to me."

"I'll give you anything!" Yuna pleaded desperately, "I just want him to stop. Stop making him dirty his hands, you're changing him into someone he doesn't want to be!"

"Hm." Eric mulled, "You'll give anything?" he asked thoughtfully.

Yuna nodded.

"Then, what about your own life?" He suggested with a smile.

Yuna remained still.

"I'll take that as a no." Eric said smugly.

"On the contrary," Yuna piped, "It's a yes. I was only debating whether Narumi would be okay when I'm not here anymore."

Eric stared at her before chuckling, "You're a tough girl, just like your mother."

"Thank you."

"Are you sure you want to exchange your life for his ticket out of the Blood? I mean, your life right now should be a pretty good one. You have money, you have a roof over your head, and you have food, what more do you want?"

"I want Narumi to be who he was before this whole thing. I want Narumi to be happy."

Eric nodded slowly, "Well, if that's what you want…" he carried off.

"However, I want you and all of the blood members to _never _contact Narumi. You will never tell him to do anything nor will you threaten him in any way possible in the future." Yuna directed.

He whistled softly, "You must have thought this through carefully."

Yuna nodded.

"Alright," Eric agreed, "I'll submit to your request, on one condition."

Yuna eyed him warily, "And what's that?"

He smiled pleasantly, "Narumi has to be the one to kill you."

Narumi remembered Yuna walking through the door before the day ended.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Trying to find answers."

He cocked an eyebrow, "Answers?" he repeated.

She nodded, "I'll be going to bed now, good night Narumi."

He stared at her back when she was walking away farther and farther away from him.

"Narumi?" she called out right when she was in front of her door.

"Yeah?"

"You know I love you, right?" She said with her back still facing towards him.

"Yeah." He said awkwardly before she nodded to herself and walked into her room.

The next few weeks were the same daily routine for both Narumi and Yuna until one night. Even to this day, Narumi still remembers the events that happened that night as if it had only happened yesterday. That night was supposedly Narumi's biggest mission that Eric had appointed to him.

Narumi slipped out of the house during the night as usual. But this night, Yuna wasn't in her room worrying about him as usual.

He snuck into the warehouse where the person that Eric wanted gone was at. He was on guard immediately when he the lights turned off immediately, making the room pitch black. He walked around the room slowly with his arms raised with his hands wrapped around a gun.

In within seconds, the lights were turned back on. But this time, there was someone in front of him.

Narumi widened his eyes, "What are you doing here, Yuna?" he asked while lowering his arms.

"I'm here to save you."

"You're not going to save me by being in my way. Go home." He hissed.

She walked over to him and took hold of the hand with the gun, "You don't have to do this anymore. You don't have to be in the Blood anymore."

He widened his eyes once more, "How did you know about the Blood? Wait, how did you know I was even here tonight? Did you follow me?!" he demanded.

She shook her head, "I am your victim tonight." She began, "Your last one, ever." She added.

Narumi had a perplexed expression on his face; he just didn't understand what was going on. "What are you talking about?"

"I," Yuna took a deep breath, "will become your ticket way out of the Blood."

"How?"

"It's simple. All you have to do is… kill me."

"Is something wrong with your head?! What the fuck are you talking about, Yuna?" he shouted, "Do you think I'm that low of a person to do that to you?"

She shook her head quickly, "But this is the only way to get you out of the Blood."

"I'm fine in the Blood." He said bitterly.

"No, you're not. You're not yourself these days. Every time you come home during the past couple months, you look mortified and empty. Even when you sleep, you get nightmares and you scream out your regrets."

He glared at her, "None of that is your business. Just go home, Yuna."

"Narumi…" she said softly, "Please… save yourself. Don't torment yourself any longer."

"Yuna…" he began tiredly.

"Narumi." She said sternly, "Only a fool would pass up this opportunity. You can leave this life that you're living right now. You don't have to hurt anyone anymore. You don't have to hurt yourself anymore." She added.

"Then I'm a fool! You make this sound as if I'm only gaining something! Don't you realize that the price of my freedom is equivalent of losing you?" he shouted, "You said that we would always be together. You _promised_ me that we would be together."

"Well, I suppose there will be some promises that will be broken and this is one of them."

He shook his head, "No, I can't do it."

She walked closer to him and held up his arm that held the gun and positioned the gun in front of her chest.

"Yes, you can. I want you to do it."

Narumi closed his eyes, "Why do you want me to do it so badly?" he muttered.

"Because this way, you'll be free and happy. And you'll be able to have a future that you would be proud of." She returned earnestly. "Please, just listen to me for once."

He opened his eyes and stared at her intently.

"Just do it." She wrapped her shaking hands around his hand.

He took a deep breath as a tear slipped down his cheek.

Tears were now streaming down Yuna's face as Narumi said, "I'm sorry, Yuna…" as he slowly pulled the trigger.

Despite her tears, she genuinely smiled at him for the last time, "I will always love you, Narumi. Always."

Bang.

There were certain spots on the floor that were slowly being painted red.

Yuna's warm hands slowly loosened around his hand as her body was about to make its way to the floor. Narumi reacted quickly and caught her body before she fell with a thud.

Tears were now fully falling as he knelt beside her limp body.

"Yuna… YUNA." He wailed, only to hear nothing but silence in return.

A few minutes later, there was a presence behind him.

"I actually did not think you were going to be able to pull this off."

Narumi quickly wiped his tears on the back of his arm before turning around to face Eric, "What are you doing here?"

"I had to make sure that you were the one to kill Yuna."

"What?" Narumi asked.

"Yuna didn't tell you?" Eric asked innocently, "She agreed to this whole plan. In exchange for your freedom from the Blood, she was willing to give up her life. You don't meet that many people that are willing to do that these days."

"And so," Eric continued, "I said I would allow that, but I said that you had to be the one that kills her. And you did that."

He smiled, "So, I'll keep my promise. You are now no longer affiliated with the Blood. The only thing I require of you is to not speak to anyone about our… activities. Or, we'll be seeing each other again."

Narumi stared at him dumbfounded while Eric turned and walked away into the night.

* * *

Five years later, Narumi had done his best to not remember the events that happened that night. During the first year Yuna was gone, it was hard for him to come back to their house. But as the years went by, Narumi became more adjusted to the house as he remodeled it into the ramen shop that existed today.

He neatly rearranged the pictures and placed them back into the box and closed it shut before placing it back on the shelf.

He didn't think about that night often, but when he does, he remembers the promise that was held between him and Yuna. The promise that was broken.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews so far! And thank you all for being patient by waiting for my really slow chapter updates haha :)**

**-M**


	16. The Bet

Narumi exited his room as he went back down the shop. Unbeknownst to him, he had cooped himself in his room for a long time for the sun was already setting, and to his surprise, there was a certain raven-haired boy waiting for him in one of the booths.

"Took you long enough, I was getting hungry."

Narumi blinked several times, and smiled slightly. "What can I get for you?

"The usual." Natsume smirked slightly.

Soon after, there was a bowl of steaming miso pork ramen placed in front of him.

He ate, and ate, and ate in silence, not bothering to converse with Narumi who was sitting in front of him. Not until he had finished eating did he gain the courage to begin talking.

"So… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up Yuna."

"You're right, you shouldn't have." Narumi briskly said, "But I accept your apology nonetheless." He smiled kindly.

A ghost of a smile tugged on Natsume's lips as the two men sat in comfortable silence.

"Did Eric offer you a way out?" Narumi asked quietly.

A nod.

"And you're not going to do it."

It wasn't a question, but rather a clarification, _a statement._

"No." Natsume said calmly.

"Do you care for her, Natsume?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

There was an absence of sound before Natsume spoke.

"She… She is someone that gave me hope that I might be able to redeem myself of all the sins I've committed, which is why she is someone that is very important to me. She's been my saving grace, an angel that has graced me with her presence, and I will become her knight-in-shining-armor to protect her from whatever Eric plans to do."

* * *

It was dusk by the time the car rolled up to an isolated house on a hill.

Mikan stepped out of the car and stretched her limbs and winced from the slight pain.

"We've been sitting way too long…" she mumbled.

"I agree, we should've taken pit-stops on the way here." Tsubasa suggested.

"I'm sorry, I'll be sure to keep that in mind your highnesses." Hotaru said dryly, "Now, are you both done complaining so that we can walk to where Nogi is?"

Mikan swallowed quickly and nodded.

The trio walked up to the silver gates that guarded the house behind it.

Hotaru walked up to the buzzer and punched in several numbers before the gates creaked open slowly.

"What is this place?" Mikan inquired.

"It's a safe house." Tsubasa replied.

"_My _safe house." Hotaru added.

She led the way as she walked up to the front door.

Mikan expected for her to just ring the bell, but to her surprise an electronic voice called out.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF."

"Hotaru Imai."

Green lines suddenly reflected across Hotaru's face as the electronic voice said, "PERMISSION GRANTED."

The front door swung open and Hotaru was the first one to walk inside, leaving behind a baffled Tsubasa and Mikan.

"What are you idiots still standing there for, we don't have all day."

The two of them shared a look and shook their heads before walking in behind her. Typical Hotaru and her technology.

"Nogi?" Hotaru called out, "Are you here?"

The trio noticed a small, white ball of fur hurling towards their direction as it barked crazily.

"Piyo! Come back!"

Mikan's face erupted into a smile as she heard that voice, "Ruka!"

He returned her grin as he came closer to the group, "What's up?"

"You got a dog?" Hotaru raised her eyebrow, "I know I said that you can bring whatever you want here to make yourself comfortable, but you decided to bring… this." She finished as she crinkled her nose in disgust.

Ruka scooped up the white furball and looked at it endearingly, "I think this was a great decision. She's so cute." He sighed.

"And you named her…?" Tsubasa drifted off.

"Piyo." Ruka finished.

"Ugly name." Hotaru muttered.

"I think it's a cute name!" Mikan chimed, as she shared a smile with Ruka.

"Ruka," Tsubasa started, "All kidding aside, I know that a safe house is a good place for you to stay in during this…" He paused with a thoughtful air, "During this _event_, but if you were to stay in this safe house all the time, how would The Blood find you?"

"Then I'll just go out periodically." Ruka responded simply.

Tsubasa nodded, "So then you'll be going out for a couple days a week?"

He nodded and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Hotaru.

"You're making him sound like a dog that's only allowed minimal time outside." She said bluntly, "He's neither a dog, nor an experiment, Tsubasa."

Tsubasa looked at her with keen eyes, "I'm afraid you're wrong, isn't this whole thing a gamble? And when you gamble, you have to experiment."

She narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing.

"Are your personal feelings getting in the way, Hotaru? Is this what it is?" he asked. "Has the ice queen finally melted her cold demeanor for the lonely prince?"

"Tsubasa, enough." Ruka said sharply before he turned towards Hotaru.

"Thanks for caring," he said with a smile, "But I'll be okay. I'm always okay."

"When this whole thing ends…you better be okay." Mikan said.

He widened his eyes slightly upon hearing her voice for the first time during this whole conversation, "Of course, I'll be okay. Should we make a bet?" he grinned childishly.

She rolled her eyes in response, "What do you want to bet about?"

"Stay by my side for a month."

Silence filled the air as three pairs of eyes widened.

"…And if I can't?"

"Then, we'll just see what happens then."

* * *

By the time Mikan got home, it was already a little past midnight.

She stumbled into her dark house, tired from the day's ordeal. She rubbed the wall to find the light switch. Once the light turned on, she found Natsume sleeping peacefully on the couch.

She smiled softly at the sight of him sleeping like a child. But then Ruka's words popped into her head, _"Stay by my side for a month"._

It was hard for her to decipher what Ruka meant and it didn't help when he hugged her tightly before she left the safe house while saying, "I really did mean what I said and I hope that you'll be able to stay with me longer than a month."

Her mind was jumbled with countless thoughts on what to do but then she was disrupted from her thoughts.

"Mikan?" Natsume mumbled.

"Hey."

"Did everything go okay?" he asked, "With your friend and all?"

She smiled slightly, "Everything went swell."

"Good." He smiled at her.

She walked over to the couch he was laying on and sat on the floor below him.

His hand curled gingerly around her shoulders as he gently turned her around to face him. She flustered and stared at him with wide, confused eyes.

He kissed her forehead softly before saying, "You're good for me."

She smiled from his unexpected display of affection. But in that moment, she knew that she could never go on with Ruka's bet because her heart was already in Natsume's hands.

* * *

Ruka shuffled aimlessly around the area of the safe house at night

"Why did I have to blurt that stupid bet to her… there's no way she's going to go along with what I said…" he mumbled to himself.

Unbeknownst to him, a shadow was looming near him, watching his movement.

The shadow gradually came closer to Ruka's location.

"Ruka Nogi." The person said.

Ruka tensed and looked around carefully in the dark, "Who's there?"

Coincidentally, the moon loomed over the shadow revealing the man to Ruka.

"My name is Eric and I have a proposal for you."

* * *

**A/N: **I am so so sorry for not updating this story in the longest :( I will try my absolute best to update this story periodically. Thank you to those that are still reading and reviewing my story. Much appreciated!

-M


	17. So Called Vendetta

Ruka's eyes widened when the man introduced himself.

"_So this is him…"_ _Ruka thought to himself. _

"How do you know my name?" Ruka said roughly.

Eric chuckled, "Who doesn't know your name by now? The supposedly good person who single handedly killed innocent people, otherwise known as Ruka Nogi."

His eyes glistened with amusement as the words rolled off his tongue.

Ruka narrowed his eyes, "And what do you want from me?"

"I want you to join my family." He said with a smile.

"Your family? What do you mean?" Ruka asked, feigning ignorance.

"My family, as in the Blood."

"_Bingo."_ _Ruka thought to himself._

"Why should I? What's in it for me?" Ruka asked.

"You seem like a man with a past, which is why I'm assuming that you want to be acknowledged with those killings that you have been doing."

"You believe I have a vendetta." Ruka asked, without a question mark.

"In simple terms, yes."

Ruka looked thoughtful, "But you still didn't answer my question, what's in it for me?"

Eric merely smiled, "I will help you get your vendetta as long as you help me with some other…tasks."

Ruka raised an eyebrow, "Tasks?" he repeated.

"I won't indulge you with the superfluous details." Eric simply said with a smile.

Ruka stared at him momentarily, "Alright, I'll join your 'family', on one condition."

Eric waited for him to continue.

"I get to do what I want to do. You are not in control of me."

Eric laughed heartily, "Who knew that a pretty boy like you would be so…" he paused thoughtfully, "mean." He finished.

Ruka only smiled, _If only you knew. _

"Regardless, I will oblige with your condition." He smiled and took two steps, "Come along now."

"To where?" Ruka narrowed his eyes.

"Your new home." Eric replied with a smile.

* * *

A few days passed without any contact from Ruka which worried Hotaru. She decided to venture off to the safe house on her own to see if anything was wrong.

When she stood in front of the metal gate, "IDENTIFY YOURSELF."

"Hotaru Imai."

Green lines reflected across her face as the electronic voice said, "PERMISSION GRANTED."

She was welcomed with silence as she stepped foot into the house.

"Nogi?" she called out, "Where are you?"

No response.

Hotaru suddenly felt something brushing against her legs. And to her surprise, it was Ruka's small white dog wagging her tail.

She sighed and crouched down to the dog's level, "Do you know where he went?"

The little dog stared back at her and barked once.

She scooped the dog up and began walking back out to her car, "Of course, you wouldn't know."

"We have an emergency." Hotaru said, once she walked into Tsubasa's office and released the dog into the room.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" Tsubasa joked, "And why did you bring Piyo here?"

"Ruka's missing."

Tsubasa's eyes widened, "What do you mean missing?"

She rolled her eyes, "There's only one definition of missing."

"Now is not the time for your snarky attitude, did you not put any tracking device on him?"

"I'm so glad that you put your trust in me to think ahead for situations like these."

Tsubasa sighed loudly, "Hotaru-"

"But rest assured," she interjected, "I did."

"Then where is he?"

"They're in a house in Nagoya."

"Isn't that the city where Mikan grew up in?" Tsubasa questioned.

"And the house they're in is not far from the house Mikan grew up in."

* * *

It was a long drive from Tokyo to the hideout of the Blood. It was a car drive accompanied by only silence.

Ruka looked out the window and he slowly realized that this was the place where Mikan used to call home, before the traumatic event that changed her life.

The car suddenly halted to a stop which stopped Ruka's train of thoughts.

"We're here." Eric said.

Ruka stepped out the car and looked at the house and he felt his jaw drop slightly. The house was colossal, almost like a manor. But it had an ominous air to it, like once you come in, you can't get out.

"You'll get used to how big it is." Eric stated, "But the house is quite a beauty, isn't it? I spent 20 years honing it to my taste."

Ruka merely nodded.

"Well, we can't just idle out here all day long. Come in, I'll introduce you to the family."

Once Eric opened the door and stepped foot in, everyone that was present stopped what they were doing and bowed in respect for him.

Well, it was either respect or fear.

Ruka followed behind him while feeling everyone's eyes on him.

"Everyone, this is Ruka Nogi." Eric started.

Murmurs rang out throughout the room.

_The one that killed those people?_

_The one that worked with the Research and Information department?_

_Why is he here?_

"Now now," Eric began, trying to regain everyone's attention, "Let's not murmur against him for he is part of our family now."

Silence.

"Has he proved himself?" someone said as he walked into the room.

"Ah, Roy. No, he hasn't. I need to train him first and then put him to test. I can't just give him his initiation test without any aid."

Roy nodded slowly while assessing Ruka while Ruka did the same towards him.

"You're Ruka Nogi." He said without a question mark.

"And you're Roy." Ruka retorted.

Roy held Ruka's gaze for a few minutes before returning his attention towards Eric.

"Who are you going to give for his initiation?" Roy asked.

Eric smiled, "Natsume."

* * *

**A/N:** I'm getting excited for this story! I hope everyone is too hehe.

-M


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